A Candle in the Wind
by Megami no Hikari1
Summary: Years have passed since Pein laid Konoha to waste. As head medic and ambassador for Konoha, Sakura Haruno finds herself swept into a whirlwind of political intrigue that lands her in Otogakure.
1. In Hell's Kitchen

***

I decided to give it another go! I forgot how much I like writing for recreation rather than a thesis or research paper. This is a Sakura/Sasuke fiction because this pair intrigues me to no end although I am not a rabid shipper of any pairing as long as its well written.

BTW I don't own Naruto or its characters. That privilege belongs to the one and only Kishimoto

***

Feeling her whole body droop in fatigue, Sakura resolutely closed the impossibly enormous book that she'd been reading for the past hour. Once the words began to alternate between blurring and dancing on the page, the pink haired medic nin reluctantly decided it was time to call it a night. Spacing out momentarily, she stared absently at the gold embossed, leather bound vellum. _Practical Techniques of Medicine through the Manipulation of Sound Waves _winked back at her. After releasing a yawn and stretching languorously in the high back wooden chair she'd been sitting in, Sakura pushed back from the small round table that had become her impromptu desk and surveyed her surroundings tiredly. From her vantage point, the cavernous room that was the servant's kitchen made her feel absolutely tiny, not that she was very big to begin with.

At age 22 she barely reached 5'4. However, despite her lack of her height her body had matured considerably since her chuunin days. Her face had long ago lost the softness of adolescence, slimming into that of a mature young woman with delicate cheekbones and impossibly large, emerald green eyes that were slightly tip-tilted. Her body was still lithe and sleek, her legs long and subtly muscled, but now her hips were slightly wider exaggerating the indentation of her small waist. Over the course of time, Sakura had developed into rather attractive woman not that she'd noticed. The only facet of her physical growth that caught her attention was her bust line. In the privacy of her thoughts, Sakura cheered at the fact that she finally had cleavage. She wasn't as busty as the Hyuuga heiress or Ino Yamanaka; still she was thoroughly satisfied with her moderate "blessings".

At the moment, her body seemed shapeless dwarfed in a grey flannel robe worn over her pajamas. She appeared almost childlike with her now shoulder length rose-colored locks pulled into a sloppy bun on top of her head. Wispy tendrils escaped its confinement framing her face and one stubborn lock fell over her slightly broad forehead. Her full, pink-tinted lips drooped into a slight frown as she looked around the empty room.

'_It's late", _she thought with an inward sigh, "_I think I've pressed my luck enough for tonight."_

Over the past two and a half weeks, Sakura fell into a routine of rising early and working into the wee hours. A trained night owl after numerous toiling overnight shifts at the medical facility in Konoha, the medic ninja still found snatches of time to enjoy a good cup of tea and a book. Even at nearly 3 am in the morning. Roaming around this sprawling manor in the late hours of the night also decreased the chances that she would run across anyone. The servants would not rise until 5 am and most if not all the other inhabitants of this place were fast asleep. Or so she hoped. Rising with unconscious grace, she tidied up the space before picking up her heavy tome and balancing a still steaming mug of tea she'd been drinking in her other hand. Her perturbed expression melted into a look of intense concentration as she sent out a pulse of chakra to search for any chakra signatures wandering the halls. After ensuring that the coast was clear, Sakura flipped off the lights in the kitchen and ventured into the dark hallways. Despite her previous check, she was still wary. Technically she could teleport to her room, but she was at the point of chakra exhaustion from healing ninja all day and her hands were a bit full, making the formation of signs to complete the teleportation jutsu cumbersome. Instead, she sent a pulse of chakra to her eyes to enhance her sight and trudged onward quietly.

'_Quietly… Quickly…'_

As she traversed the hallways, she felt the muted chakra of individuals slumbering behind the doors she passed on her way to her quarters. The servant kitchen was the in East Wing while her suites of rooms lay nestled in the West Wing of the house along with the suites of the house's master, an individual she doggedly avoided since she arrived nearly three weeks ago. It was relatively easy with her work hours being so lengthy except in her sparse free time, she resorted to sneaking about. It was annoying, to say the least, and more than ever she was intensely homesick.

'_Now I know how Shikamaru feels. This is definitely troublesome…'_ Sakura ranted inside her head, _'I miss my damn apartment, my bed, my life. This sucks…'_

Her speed picked up a bit as she neared her room, her footfalls making no sound on the plush, expensive runner on the hardwood floor of the spacious hallway. Her heart leapt in triumph after once again beating the odds and making it to her room without incident. Letting her guard drop to free up a hand and twist the knob of her bedroom door, Sakura's kunoichi senses sent a sharp alert searing through her brain as she felt the air shift slightly behind her. For a second, her muscles bunched automatically as her body switched into 'fight-or-flight' mode before her shoulders sagged dejectedly. Her slender fingers dropped from the door as she turned reluctantly. Sighing audibly this time, she glanced first at the large masculine hand pressed against the bedroom door. It was far too close to her head for her liking. Then she glared up the individual preventing her retreat into her room.

Viridian eyes met bottomless jet black in the darkness. Sakura felt caged and a bit panicked as silence stretched for what seemed like hours. The petite medic bit the plump flesh of her lower lip as she glared up at the deceptively blank face of the man that she'd gone out her way to steer clear of. Towering almost a full head above her, the man fearlessly met her glare before his gaze lowered unhurriedly taking her in from head to toe, briefly pausing at her bare feet and working his way back up before raising his brow pointedly. She implicitly understood the silent command for an explanation but she obstinately remained quiet. Years ago she would have eagerly rambled on without prompt, desperately trying to please. Time had changed her significantly, gone was the naïve, self-conscious fan-girl left bruised in the wake of betrayal. In her place was a guarded young woman who knew the pains of harsh reality and was not inclined to cower. Even if her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that it would be no small wonder if he could hear it. Instead, she gripped her mug and book tighter to her chest and bit down a little harder on her bottom lip in frustration.

The man's brows furrowed minutely as he realized that Sakura refused to break the silence. Rather than beat around the bush, he got straight to the point. "It seems that you've been avoiding me, Sakura… Why is that?"

Sakura had a love-hate relationship with this man's voice. It was so achingly familiar, yet not. Time had transformed it into something velvety, deep and dark. Her name rolled off his tongue in such a way that it made her inwardly shudder, as his voice pooled at the base of her brain and sent little shocks all over her body. She hated her reaction to her name on his lips. She hated that he felt like he had any right to use it in such an intimate matter, or what felt like an intimate way to her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Otokage-sama. Your medical facilities have kept me quite occupied as I'm sure you've noticed", Sakura replied blithely even as her stomach did a flip. "Have you not received the reports I've been sending bi-weekly as per you request? I'm sure…"

"Sakura…" he interrupted her smoothly, an undertone of warning in his voice.

Sakura knew what he would say next. "Yes Otokage-sama?"

"Did I not permit to you to call me Sasuke?"

'_Oh course you did, O Great One...' _At this point Sakura grit her teeth. Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she replied, "Given the circumstances, it is in my favor to keep a certain level of professionalism. There are quite a few people under my charge who've yet to see me as a respectable medic nin fit to lead… "

"Sakura, we're in the privacy of my home. Besides, that does not explain why you sneak through this house like it's rigged with a million explosive tags."

"Would you prefer I stomp through the house at 3 am like a herd of elephants?" the pink-haired kunoichi hissed in annoyance, resisting the urge to yell at him.

Tiring of her insubordination, the Sharingan activated in the depths of Sasuke's onyx eyes as he leaned into Sakura until there was scant inches between their faces, "Are you trying to irritate me on purpose?"

Her discomfort increased tenfold as she felt his warm breath fan across her face. The black tomoes whirled lazily in his now blood red orbs as he glared at her. Breaking eye contact with her former teammate abruptly, the petite woman pressed herself as close to her door as possible before answering, "No, I'm just trying to do my job. Nothing more, nothing less…" Sakura's voice dropped to pained whisper, "I remember my unfortunate promise I made to you years ago. Regardless of the circumstances, I didn't come here to fail."

Sasuke menacing glare dissipated as he heard the grim resolve in her voice. He was unaccustomed to the woman standing before him. She was nothing like the Sakura of their genin days and this unsettled him more than he liked to admit. Initially, he'd been willing to ignore the fact that she was avoiding him. He figured after a few days she would seek him out but the days stretched into weeks. After not seeing hide nor hair of the pink haired kunoichi for two weeks, he began monitoring her and discovered that she was carefully outmaneuvering him. Masking her chakra, working late hours, and holing herself up in her rooms during her free time, all for the sake of lessening the chances that she would run into him. Perhaps cornering her at 3 am was not the brightest idea but his pride would not allow her to continue with her antics. The very idea of her avoiding him was absolutely ludicrous.

"Sakura, look at me." Taking liberties with her person, Sasuke lightly gripped her delicate chin as he turned her eyes back towards his. "Interacting with me comes with the job. I will have no more of you sending proxies and notes."

Resisting the warmth spreading over her cheeks, she protested, "I have a full schedule and there are million things to be done before…"

"Tomorrow…"

"What?!"

"It's late. We will discuss this tomorrow." he commanded still holding her captive.

Sakura sputtered, wracking her brain for an excuse, "But, I…"

Sasuke straightened and stepping back from her, "It's final. Tomorrow at 2pm."

"But I have…"

"Whatever it is, it's cancelled…"

"Fine…" Sakura sighed dejectedly. "Can I go to bed now?"

"Aa…"

Without further ado, Sakura retreated into her room and pressed her back against the door while she attempted to calm her emotions. Another frustrated sigh escaped her as she dropped the book on her nightstand and stared down at her now cold tea. _'Damn demanding bastard…'_

Outside her door, Sasuke Uchiha stared at the closed door for a moment before departing to his own suite. In his mind he noted that he could still feel her warm silken skin on his fingertips. The image of her swathed in that overlarge robe with her bare toes peeking out, glaring up at him with those flashing green eyes like a defiant child made him smirk. Although he would never say so, he thought her adorable when she was mad and Sasuke Uchiha never thought anything or anyone was adorable.


	2. Deals With the Devil

_6 years ago…_

The sound of breaking porcelain ripped through the silence of the sparsely furnished room. The single occupant of the room looked down at her trembling hands and pale wrists encased in chakra manacles. In a fit of rage brought on by another horrible meeting gone wrong, she'd chucked the whole bottle of expensive sake the despicable man had so graciously brought with him. From time to time, Danzou came to taunt her with the sordid details of his takeover of Konoha. He took pleasure in seeing her subtle distress, although Tsunade strived to never let him see her sweat. It didn't matter much to the man. She was still at a disadvantage even if she remained as stoic as possible.

In the months of chaos following Pein's invasion, the weakened Hokage had done all she could to stave off Danzou's rebellion and tend to the needs of Konoha. Naruto managed to critically damage the maniacal leader of the Akatsuki before Pein pulled out of the leveled village. As the dust of battle settled, Tsunade was left stunned by the death toll. Expending the remainder of her chakra reserves to save her beloved village with the assistance of Katsuya, many had still met their end or sustained some major injuries.

Shizune was gone… The remaining member of the Legendary Sannin repressed a sob that stuck in her throat at the thought.

Kakashi remained in a sleep so reminiscent of death it was no point in considering him among the living. There was doubt that he would awaken. Naruto did not leave the fight with Pein unscathed; the damage left him in intensive care for nearly a week. Tsunade's lips tilted into a slight smile as she recalled how Sakura rallied the remaining shinobi to seek out those in need of urgent care, tirelessly healing the injured, and directing the medic ninjas as best she could.

It took a full week to regain enough chakra to reinstate Tsunade's seal. During that time, Sakura carried out her orders in her steed as Shizune had done before her death. Both she and Sakura knew that it would not do to appear so frail and weak before a village badly shaken and insecure after the devastation.

Suna arrived shortly after Tsunade regained her strength enough to keep up appearances as Hokage. After negotiations with Gaara, Suna's Kazekage, villagers able to travel were relocated to Suna. The Hokage realized that the weakened city-state was far too vulnerable and the process of rebuilding would go more smoothly without the worries of finding immediate housing solutions for nearly all of Konoha's population. She sent a very reluctant Sakura, Team Guy, Team 8 as well as Shikamaru and Team 10 along with some seasoned Jounins to facilitate the move. Appointing Sakura as an ambassador to assist Shikamaru and ease the tension that the flood of Konoha citizens would undoubtedly cause in Suna. She would also be in charge of updating the medical facilities of the Suna, implementing seminars and training sessions for their lacking medical squad. Settling Konoha's refugees was no easy task and it would take months before Sakura and her team could return.

Recruiting Naruto to assist her as she oversaw the clearing of rubble and rebuilding process shortly after the village's partial evacuation, Tsunade knew the moment would come when the council would rear their ugly heads. She spared no time for the council and they wisely kept their peace while her moods became increasingly unstable and prickly. Danzou was suspiciously silent in all of this and she knew a time would come when she would have to fight tooth and nail. One very late night two weeks after the evacuation, her time came swiftly and without remorse.

***

After laboring over documentation of the dwindling coffers of Konoha, most of their expenses going towards rebuilding and defense, Tsunade ran her fingers through her blond bangs and then leaned back in her chair. All of her genin and chuunin were occupied with the construction. She managed to spare some Jounins for missions, but it would not be prudent to leave the village without proper defense. By now both allies and enemies must have been informed of Akatsuki's attack and its results. A sigh of frustration escaped her as she swiveled her chair to stare out at the landscape of Konoha.

Most of the rubble was cleared. To cut some cost, she ordered her task squad of shinobi and skilled tradesmen to salvage as much of the wreckage as possible for construction. Now thousands of tents and partially complete structures could be seen. The sight lifted her spirits just a bit and caused her to recall Naruto's antics for the day. The boy, no correction young man, had taken to summoning an unheard of amount of kage bunshin to get his tasks done faster. At one point, one of his mischievous clones triggered a paint war with a group of chuunin working on a neighboring house. She had no idea where that child found the energy to joke around in such a grim atmosphere. However his foolishness resulted in some much needed laughs and a terrible scolding from Tsunade.

"That idiot…" She muttered to herself and turned back to her desk. Reaching into one her hidden compartments of her desk, the Hokage pulled out a bottle of expensive sake and her favorite cup.

After pouring herself a cup, she sipped leisurely and glanced over the financial report once more. Wracking her brain in an effort to cut costs, she barely noticed the door of her office swing open. Looking up abruptly, she glared as recognized the intruder.

"Isn't it a bit late to make personal calls, Danzou?" Tsunade inquired sarcastically as she took a long sip of sake. She needed all the sake she could get before he opened his mouth.

"It is indeed, Tsunade." Danzou replied genially before his tone hardened, "But you must know this is far from a personal visit."

Tsunade knew as soon as Koharu Utatane and Homaru Mitakado, the remaining members of the council, walked into the room she was headed for trouble.

Keeping a cool countenance, Tsunade leaned back in her chair, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu council meeting?"

Not one to hash words Homaru spoke bluntly, "It is time to step down Tsunade."

Rising from her seat with deceptively calmness, Tsunade hissed threateningly, "You overstep your bounds. I am the Hokage and you are merely my advisors. My word is final in Konoha…"

"Tsunade, be reasonable. You've become incredibly weak since Pein's attack. You know you are no longer fit to serve as Hokage. Step down. Please do not make us force you." Koharu implored.

"You and what army? I put my life on the line for this village and will continue to do so until the day I die. There is no way I plan on rolling over and playing dead for you bastards. Go to Hell!" Tsunade roared before switching her battle stance.

"Such a temper you have… I have never been a fan of yours, Tsunade. You are far too soft and emotional for my tastes. Such hot-headedness in times of trouble can prove rather fatal, don't you think?" Danzou chastised before stepping aside casually. "As far as me and what army goes…"

The crippled leader of Root stepped aside as the office flooded with members of his task force. In the end, the Hokage put up a valiant fight but was unfortunately outnumbered. Ironically it had been Sai, Sasuke's replacement in Team 7, who finally restrained her. Slapping the chakra draining manacles on her wrists before shoving a note folded so many times it appeared miniscule into her clenched fists. She did not read it until she was unceremoniously shoved into the small suite of rooms that would serve as her prison cell.

She would later unfurl the note to find a short message scrawled elegantly in black ink, _"Please be patient. I am on your side."_

***

Since being overthrown, Tsunade sat in her minute quarters, enduring visits from Danzou and on occasion receiving a messenger from Sai. Apparently the story presented to the remains of Konoha was Danzou ascended to title of Hokage after she fell ill. The despot even went so far as to plant a comatose clone of the Godaime in the medical facility. Most of the Konoha's faithful shinobi were suspicious but could not question this mysterious and sudden turn of events because Danzou brooked no arguments. Those who spoke against him were arrested on suspicion of treason. According to Sai, pockets of rebellion were quietly brewing in the village as more people disappeared. Much to her frustration, none of her medics had discovered that the comatose Tsunade was a fake even as they continued to run a myriad of tests on the human clone to discern its condition. The former Hokage figured that Danzou kept her alive merely as his trump card. Should his ruse unravel, he had a hostage to keep the wolves at bay. While he had some supporters from the older generations, the rest of Konoha were apathetic to their new Hokage because of his heavy handed and tyrannical methods. Naruto had to be restrained when Danzou and the council forbade him to travel to Suna to inform Sakura and the rest of the relocation party of Konoha's recent events.

The imprisonment of Naruto infuriated her the most. The council refused to see the Jinchuuriki as anything more than a pawn in their war games. In the past, Tsunade fought the judgment of Danzou and the council so that he might have a normal life and an opportunity to achieve his dreams of becoming Hokage. Waiting was all she could do now. For what she had no clue. She hated feeling so helpless and powerless. Time seemed to crawl by so slowly and she could not be sure of what day it was. Her chakra draining manacles only allowed the smallest trickle of chakra, not enough to perform any jutsu to assist her in escape from her windowless prison.

Sitting down her small, uncomfortable bed, Tsunade sighed. Perhaps she shouldn't have tossed that sake. Being drunk right now seemed a great deal better than being sober, worried and frustrated. Shaking her head she tried to consult her internal clock and figure out how long she'd been here. Time was so hard to discern in this windowless room. She would have to ask Sai the next time she saw him, which was rare. The last she'd made note of her imprisonment was the three week point, two months after Pein's attack. Staring absently at her manacled wrists, she almost didn't see the ink mouse frantically squeezing its way under her door.

"Sai…" Tsunade whispered.

The tracker mouse looked up at the woman and then exploded, ink splattered onto the floor forming script before fading into nothing.

"_Sasuke is attacking Konoha. He has found ROOT's base._ _Koharu Utatane and Homaru Mitakado are dead."_

Her amber eyes widened when she read that message. _'Sasuke has finally come for his revenge.' _Anguish washed over her as she imagined the devastation the last Uchiha was probably reaping in the already weakened village. _'May the Gods protect Konoha…'_

She heard the commotion going on outside her cell. The thick walls did not completely blot out the sounds of screams, yelling and the huge explosion that rocked her cell. Tsunade came to terms with the fact that she most likely would die in this cell. However, she was not afraid. As a kunoichi, death followed her throughout her life and she was not so naïve to think that she could continue to best the odds. She would most likely die in the midst of completing another Creation Rebirth jutsu. Besides, her shackles prevented her from utilizing such drastic measure should the time come. She barely had enough chakra to make a spark.

After what seemed like hours, an eerie silence descended on her cell and the medical specialist impatiently awaited her fate. Rather than take it all in sitting down, she begun to pace in anxiety. Danzou made her wait more than a month and now her future lie in the hands of a sole Uchiha who was dead set on avenging the death of his clan. Tsunade was well aware of the circumstances of his return. She managed to pull all of confidential files and discovered the council's preemptive decree against the Sasuke's clan. She knew of Itachi Uchiha's true role in the massacre. He'd been a mere pawn of Konoha's ruling powers. She would not be surprised if Sasuke saw fit to eliminate her as well if he knew she was here. What was one more death when vengeance was involved?

Her door burst open and a distinct smell she remembered from her travels through the Land of Lightning hit her nose. It reminded of the sharp smell that filled the air when lightning struck._ 'Either Kakashi has risen from his coma and come to my rescue or..."_

She had little time to ponder as a Sasuke Uchiha stepped quietly into her room. Dressed entirely in black save the purple rope holding up his hakama pants, the composed young man emanated a menacing aura. This man barely resembled the traumatized adolescent she healed after he survived the effects of Itachi's Tsukiyomi. He was much taller with a proud bearing and wide shoulders. His face had matured, losing its baby fat and leaving behind his refined bone structure. His eyes were dark and soulless. She could see how Sakura had fallen for this pretty boy when they were genin. Adolescent girls were foolish that way. Despite his cold demeanor and perpetual frown, she could see his appeal.

Pinning Tsunade with his bleak gaze, Sharingan activate, he spoke, "Tsunade..."

"Uchiha..." she replied tiredly. "Have you come to finish me off? I've been waiting a while to be done with it. I hate waiting."

Sasuke seemed unfazed by her brash words, "I have no interest in killing innocents."

"I see..."

"I believe we have business to attend to, Tsunade..." he sighed.

Tsunade frowned before questioning hesitantly, "Do we?"

"But not here. Let's go." Sasuke appeared behind her so quickly her eyes did not catch the movement. Then she felt an arm wrap around her waist and the distinct pull in her abdomen that could only originate from a teleportation jutsu.

One minute she was in her dismal cell and the next she found herself in the Hokage's office. The place was empty and there was no proof that a struggle had taken place between her and the council. Trailing her fingers over the wood grain of her desk, Tsunade walked over to window to peer out at the village she loved so much. All seemed quiet. Abruptly, she turned back to the Uchiha.

"I thought you led a full out attack on Konoha?" she questioned.

"Konoha has already met its ruin. There is no point in adding to the devastation. Besides, I have no taste for killing innocents. Making too much noise would have alerted my quarry and gotten too many bystanders involved."

She shuddered at Sasuke's coldness. He was far too young to be so soulless. "So what will you do with me?"

The young came to sit before her, leaning forward so that he could brace his elbows on his knees. Intertwining his fingers before resting his chin against them, Sasuke struck a contemplative pose as he thought over his next words. "I have a proposition for you."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "I believe I'm in no position to..."

Pinning her with a blank stare, he interrupted, "Danzou and the council are dead. My revenge is complete. You are now free to continue your reign as Hokage."

"Fine... That may be true but what is it that you want of me?"

"As I said I'm here to make a proposition. I want you to rescind my status as a missing Nin."

Tsunade gave a sharp bark of laughter, "Are you serious? Whether or not I liked the bastards, you killed the council. That's a serious offense. If there was a council to try you, you'd be executed."

"Understood... However, the council rose to power by overthrowing and holding the Hokage hostage. I'm sure that is a punishable offense. Not to mention, they ordered the annihilation of my entire clan. Did you expect me to roll over on my back and simply accept that regardless of the circumstances?"

"No but..."

"I'm not asking for reacceptance into Konoha."

"Then what is it you want? You are an S-class missing Nin. The last time I was privy to such information, you were in cahoots with the Akatsuki. Has that changed?"

"I have been affiliated with said organization but I'm not a member. They recruited me to capture the Hachibi of Kumo. That attempt failed and the Jinchuuriki escaped. Akatsuki's objectives are unknown to me as well as being completely unrelated to what I seek to achieve." Sasuke sighed.

"Sasuke, this is impossible..."

"I will submit to whatever interrogation you feel is necessary. In my time away from Konoha, I have not revealed any of your secrets nor killed an innocent."

Tsunade paused, not knowing how to answer.

"What I desire is exile status from Konoha."

Tsunade sat up in her chair in surprise, "What?"

"I have no intention of reviving my clan in the land where they were slaughtered. I want your permission to live my life without the threat of ANBU or Naruto scrambling after me to drag me back here."

The Godaime emitted another dry laugh at the mention of Naruto.

"Think about it. In my absence, I have defeated Orochimaru, Itachi, and Deidara. I disbanded several of Orochimaru's test sites. While my leave-taking from Konoha may have been unfortunate, I've done more for you in my absence than I could have ever achieved here." Sasuke said with a shrug.

"You do not know that..." Tsunade rejoined gruffly, "The remainder of Team 7 has not been idle while you were off gallivanting with S-class villains."

"Aa..."

"Sasuke, why did you even bother to consult me? It's obvious that you could have run back into the darkness from whence you came. "

"I do not see the point in running. I want my name cleared in atonement for my clan's demise. Besides, I do not want any of my future dealings with Konoha and other villages to be affected by my status as a missing Nin."

"Future dealings," she echoed skeptically. "Don't tell me you're going to Oto."

"I absorbed and overpowered Orochimaru which technically makes me..."

"The Otokage..." Tsunade sighed. Sasuke Uchiha presented a difficult but valid case.

"Sound will prove a difficult enemy without a leader... Konoha has been weakened considerably by Pein. The last thing you need is a more attacks."

"Is that a threat Uchiha?"

"No, just a prediction..." the sinister young man shrugged yet again before replying, "I have no sway over Sound's Ninja at the moment. I prefer to make allies if it can be helped. You have resources here that could prove useful to achieving my goals... "

Tsunade frowned at that last cryptic statement, "I will do what I can. It will be nothing short of rewriting the law."

"Aa..."

"Do you promise to cooperate fully with ANBU's interrogation squad?"

"Aa..." he replied as he stood approaching the desk and holding out his hands.

Tsunade watched him warily for a moment.

"Your wrists..." he sighed impatiently.

Rankling a bit at his tone, she raised her wrists and he took hold of the manacles. She felt the surge of electricity flow the heavy metal cuffs before the fell from her wrists. Her suppressed chakra rushed through her system. "Now into the fire we go then, eh Uchiha?"

She received no response. Sasuke said all that need be said for now it seemed. Tsunade shrugged and summoned a messenger hawk, relishing the way it felt to use her powers once again. "This is going to be fun..."

Needless to say, the fray and the complete confusion that ensued on ANBU's arrival to the Hokage's office was quite a sight to see. There was quite a lot of explaining two concussions and a broken desk, Tsunade's doing, and one Sasuke Uchiha taken into custody.


	3. Fools Rush In

***

First and foremost, I don't own Naruto... Never did and most likely never will. I wanted to add an author's note so that people can get a sense of the passage of time in this fiction. This chapter is still in the past. Sai managed to get a note to Sakura about 3 weeks after Tsunade is imprisoned. Danzou is rather paranoid about being overthrown so security is rather tight. Besides, it does takes a bit of time to get a messenger mouse from Konoha to Suna.

***

'_Remember Sakura, only fools rush in...Like Naruto...'_

Despite chanting this mantra in her head, Sakura felt her heart drop as she finished reading Sai's missive. She never liked Danzou very much although his insistent meddling in the lives of Team 7 resulted in Sai, who managed to be a blessing and a curse rolled into one. Even though Sai and the remainder of Team 7 got off to a rocky start, it was times like these when he proved be a very trustworthy and loyal friend. Biting her thumb as her anxiety began to build, the kunoichi tried to clear her head and decide how to proceed with this information. Her instincts told her that she should drop everything and return to Konoha, but she was an ambassador. Running off to a fate unknown was ill-advised especially since the relationship between Suna and Konoha was not as strong as it appeared. Even though the Kazekage opened the doors of Sunagakure to the Leaf Village's refugees, that hospitality only stretched so far. Konoha's reception in Suna was lukewarm at best. Some of the Sand Village citizens grumbled in discontent over having their taxes go to the support of "outsiders". Others were just plain suspicious of the newcomers. It was not so long ago that Suna and Konoha were enemies rather than allies.

Before making any rash decisions, she would speak to Gaara about this predicament. As Kazekage, he tended to make wise decisions and she knew that he would understand the urgency of the situation. He may even have some useful advice to impart to Sakura. It had only been a month and a half since she and her group relocated the citizens of Konoha. Suna's resources were a bit stretched and the pink-haired kunoichi barely had enough time to fully analyze the village's medical facility in order to improve it, which was a part of the agreement between the two villages. If he endorsed her return home, Suna's council would be unable to cry foul.

After excusing herself from observing a complicated manual surgery taking place at the Sunagakure's medical center, Sakura traveled to Suna's main council building in a complete daze. While Suna villagers did not view Konoha's citizens in a very favorable light, they greeted Sakura genially. In return the kunoichi smiled and waved absently, greeting everyone as if on auto-pilot. She was barely aware of how fast she was moving until she came to a stop before the Kazekage Tower. The building that contained the offices of the Kazekage and the council was rotund and a bit more imposing then the Hokage tower. Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, Sakura entered the tower and walked toward the reception desk where, Matsuri sat idly humming.

"Good afternoon, Matsuri. Is the Kazekage in a meeting right now?" the pink haired kunoichi inquired softly.

The chuunin kunoichi tilted her head as she eyed the newcomer suspiciously. Matsuri held a flame for the Godaime Kazekage since she was a genin and did not take favorably to Sakura, who she perceived as a threat for some unknown reason. After throwing the medic ninja a brief warning glare, Matsuri replied, her tone syrupy sweet, "Of course Gaara-sama is in a meeting. He is hardly an idle man, you know?"

Praying for patience, Sakura gulped down the sharp words threatening to spill from her lips, "Of course he is. I never meant to imply otherwise. At any rate, I have an issue of utmost importance to discuss with the Kazekage. I would like to know if he is available at the moment."

The Suna Nin sighed quietly before checking Gaara's schedule. "You're just in luck. Gaara-sama's council meeting should be ending momentarily."

"Great, I will be going now. Please excuse me." Sakura responded and then swept through the reception doors which lead to curving hallways lined with offices.

"That doesn't mean you can... just..." Matsuri called after her before her voice faded in resignation. "Damn Konoha ninjas," she mumbled to the empty reception area.

Doing her best to shake off her irritation and anxiety, the kunoichi with rose colored locks wandered through several twist and turns, traveling upward until she came to the closed double doors of the Kazekage's council room. Two of Suna Jounins stood guard to ensure trespassers would not interrupt the room's occupants. Over the course of her stay in Suna, Sakura became familiar with quite a few of Suna's Nin. Eiji, a tan, lanky ninja with brown, choppy hair and grey eyes, and Masao, a stocky ninja with jet black eyes and long, blue hair, greeted Sakura with a nod. Masao twisted the handle to allow her entrance but she held up her hand to stop him.

The kunoichi heaved a sigh before giving the two Nin an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry. Give me a moment please..." After pacing for a back and forth inthe hallway, muttering plans to herself and ignoring the Jounins confused glances, Sakura heaved a gusty sigh and nodded, "Okay, I'm ready now."

Eiji and Masao pushed open the doors simultaneously, giving the Konoha ambassador a full view of the large room with its long, oblong wooden table. Light streamed into the room from the huge ceiling to floor windows. The council occupied every seat at the table with Sunagakure's leader sitting at its head. No one except Gaara noticed her entrance as the council continued to argue amongst themselves about various issues. The Kazekage appeared to be observing Sakura carefully, frowning slightly when he detected her strained features. He immediately rose from his seat, silencing a questioning council member with a slight hand gesture. The remaining occupants became aware of his movement, glancing at their leader before following his direct line of vision to Sakura.

An elder council member who served under the Yondaime Kazekage, Kazuo Masashi, inquired curiously, "Ah Haruno-san, to what do we owe this pleasure. Surely our medical facility is doing well?"

"Masashi-sama, I'm very sorry to interrupt your meeting..." Sakura began before her voice faltered. She was fully aware of the audacity of her actions.

Gaara appeared at her side before she could continue, lightly gripping her elbow and steering her toward a quiet alcove beyond the conference room. "This meeting is adjourned until 5pm. You are dismissed." Gaara said over his shoulder.

"But Kazekage-sama, we still have..." Masashi replied.

The Godaime Kazekage raised an eyebrow in warning, effectively silencing the man. "If you feel so inclined, feel free to continue on without me elsewhere. I am sure you can update me on any salient points of this meeting if any should arise."

Sakura heard rather than saw the council quit the table and exit the room. Even though the Akatsuki managed to extract the one-tailed demon Shukaku from Gaara's body, the former Jinchuuriki was still rather intimidating. After ensuring that everyone else left the conference room, Gaara directed his kohl-rimmed gaze back to her.

"Well, that was effective." Sakura chuckled lightly, hoping that she didn't appear as tense as she felt.

"They tend to argue about absolutely nothing for hours on end. It's troublesome." Gaara muttered in irritation.

"Shikamaru is rubbing off on you I see..."

The Kazekage's jade eyes narrowed slightly, "I got it from Temari actually... Shikamaru huh?" After mentally cataloguing that tidbit of information, he turned his attention fully to the kunoichi standing beside him, "What brings you here, Sakura?"

Hearing the concern in his voice, Sakura felt the words rush from her mouth before she could think about what she was saying. She told him about everything happening in Konoha, her growing anxiety about the future of her village, and her dislike of the current Hokage, Danzou. The Kazekage merely nodded, allowing the woman to pour her heart out. When she finally stemmed the seemingly endless flow of words and emotions, Gaara awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder as if to placate the tense medic ninja.

"I'm not sure what to do. I have obligations here but I need to be in Konoha. Who knows how Danzou will react to my arrival if I do rush back home. I'm not even sure my shisou will be alive by the time I get there... I..."

Gaara responded before she could launch into another fit of anxiety, "It is obvious that you must return to Konoha. I'm sure Danzou is aware of you presence here although he has yet to contact Suna. So it would be unwise to go back without a reasonable cover. I will send a message addressed to Tsunade pertaining to a medical scroll she has that will be useful here. It would be unwise to fully withdraw from Suna with the political climate being what it is now. Perhaps a small and inconspicuous group will do."

"There is a possibility that Danzou will imprison me as well. I am Tsunade's apprentice after all and the council has been keeping tabs on me for a while now." Sakura replied gravely.

Because she was staring out the window, the pink haired young woman missed the flash of concern in Gaara's eyes. "Perhaps, it will not come to that. If you return, you cannot let them discover that you are aware of Tsunade's imprisonment. Tomorrow afternoon I will dispatch you and a group of Suna's ninja. Before that, I must send a note to Konoha to make the necessary parties aware of your return."

Despite knowing that the Kazekage would grant her request, the kunoichi was still overwhelmed with relief, "Kazekage-sama, How can I ever thank y..."

The young man tersely interrupted, "Gaara..."

"I... eh... What?"

"Start by calling me Gaara. I am sure I have told you of this before. We are not strangers. You saved my life."

Sakura blushed slightly as she grew flustered, "I did no such thing. It was Naruto and Chiyo-sama who are really responsible for your rescue."

Shrugging off her denial, he pushed forward, "My point is you and your team came to my aid on several occasions. There is no need for such formality between us. I'm sure Kankuro would agree to that."

Smiling slightly at his reassurance, she smiled slightly, "Thank you for your understanding, Gaara."

"Don't fret over it... Just make sure that you return to m...umm Suna safely. You still have responsibilities here. Do not forget that." Gaara continued gruffly rubbing the head slightly at his near slip.

"Understood. I must return to the hospital. There is much to be done before I leave and... I know I said it before but... Thank you so much!" Sakura smiled obliviously before turning to leave.

As the door closed behind her, Gaara stared at the closed doors and then out the window. Frowning in displeasure, he muttered, "Smooth move idiot..."

***

This is a bit of a filler chapter but I felt it was rather necessary to the plot. Not much action going on but as you can see someone has a bit of a crush on our pink haired kunoichi. Perhaps Matsuri has a right to be prickly. However, this isn't a GaaSaku fic even though I see nothing against the pair. Sakura is about to have enough trouble on her hands as it is. Gaara may seem ooc to some but watch Gaara after his rescue during the Rescue Gaara Arc. He's matured a great deal. Being Kazekage will do that to you.


	4. Enter the Fray

***

Hello everyone! I bring you another chapter of _Candle in the Wind_. I just wanted to make note of some things going on in the chapter. There are chapter 437 manga spoilers in this chapter. I'm doing my best to stay as canon as possible but Kishimoto is rather vague about death. At this point, I'm not sure who is dead in Naruto so I decided to interpret Pein's devastation of Konoha on my own. BTW, there is a large block of Sakura remembering those events. This flashback is italicized just like characters' inner thoughts and dialogue.

***

Sakura felt guilty as she ran in the direction of Konoha. Her team was lagging slightly behind unable to keep up with her bruising pace. Concentrating a bit as she leapt through the trees at neck breaking speed, the rushed medic ninja could make out the familiar chakra signatures of Masao, Eiji, and Hinata Hyuuga. The latter of the group seemed to be keeping pace just fine considering that she was once on the brink of death two months ago. Sakura slowed her pace as her brain assaulted her with memories of blood, smoke and utter devastation.

_She remembered being in the midst of healing her shisou. At that time, Sakura was so frantic about her mentor's fragile state that she could barely do more than focus on Tsunade's healing. When she felt the drained woman tense beneath her ministrations, she gave the Hokage a questioning stare as the chakra in her hands dimmed and then flickered to a halt. It was then that she sensed that the whole city was awash in a wave of sinister chakra. Having encountered this menacing power once before, she froze in sheer terror. The fox demon's chakra was much stronger this time, however. She knew that Naruto had lost control yet again. In that state, the Jinchuuriki could lay to waste the remains of Konoha and its survivors. Sakura remembered being near tears as she realized that no one was in any state to subdue Naruto. Tsunade tried to struggle to her feet, declaring that she would sacrifice what little power she had left for her village. Being the stronger of the two in that moment, the Hokage's apprentice subdued her master and hurried off to the Hokage's tower. At that time, she was dimly aware of being followed by a lone ANBU agent. Before she could reach the tower, there was a blinding flash of light and this horrid scream that left her ears ringing. The light dissipated as quickly as it came and the kyuubi's chakra diminished just as abruptly. _

_She remembered being protected by the ANBU agent, remembered struggling and screaming frantically that she had to get to the top of the tower. When the masked agent finally bowed to her will, using a transportation jutsu, the sight that greeted at her would forever be burned on her memory. Mangled body parts lay smoking on the singed roof of the Hokage tower. Corpses of the toads, demons, and Pein littered the ground. Upon seeing both Hinata and Naruto lying in pools of their own blood and gore, Sakura let loose a bloodcurdling scream. Torn between who to tend to first, she ran to Naruto's side knowing how damaging the fox chakra could be to his body. The young man writhed and groaned in pain as she drew close to him. Sensing her approach despite his near fatal injuries, Naruto begged his comrade to tend to Hinata. She could still his heartbroken cries._

_"She's dying, Sakura. Save her. I can feel her dying..."_

_Approaching the injured Hyuuga heiress, she could barely feel the faint thread of life force within her body. It took every ounce of will she had to pull Hinata from the brink of oblivion. The process of pouring her chakra into the dying girl was grueling. Sakura remembered almost fainting in the process as black crept into the edges of her vision. It was then that a pair of warm hands belonging to the masked agent gripped her shoulders, flaring with a familiar chakra. _

_"Let me help you..." a man's voice commanded as Sakura tensed against the flow of chakra into her body. _

_Sakura nodded and replied in a hoarse whisper, "Yamato...sensei..." _

_Nothing more was said. The hours passed on as Sakura alternated between healing Naruto and tending to barely breathing member of Team 8. Once she ensured that both of them were stable, the overworked kunoichi remembered finally allowing the darkness of fatigue engulf her. _

Feeling a faint tinge of worry brought on by her recollections, Sakura decreased her speed enough to match Hinata's. The experienced tracker had her Byakugan activated to watch for any approaching enemies or obstacles. Sakura smiled at the heiress's determined expression as they ran side by side.

Hinata broke the silence before Sakura could inquire, "No need to worry about me, Sakura... I'm fine..."

"You know me too well..." Sakura laughed.

"You and Naruto have worried over me for the past two months. How could I not?" the Hyuuga heiress replied with a smile.

It was true. Being a medic nin made Sakura instinctively fuss over her patients like a mother hen. However, she was most certainly surprised by how overbearingly protective Naruto had been of Hinata these past months. The Jinchuuriki was once completely oblivious to the heiress's long-standing affection. Now he seemed to hover over her incessantly. Sakura could not help but to wonder what brought on the change. In the frenzy of the past months, she barely spoke more than a word of greeting to her blond, whisker-faced friend, let alone found the time to interrogate him about his behavior. She had her own hypothesis but figured she could try to pry an answer out of the Team Kurenai's only female member.

"So... Hinata..." Sakura began, feeling her cheeks grow pink, "What's going on with you and Naruto?"

She heard the other girl squeak in surprise, "I... well... we... umm..." Hinata's cheeks reddened considerably before she found a way to answer, "I ... I... confessed my feelings to him during the battle with Pein."

Sakura's eyes widened, "Really?! I knew it! I knew you had it in you."

Hinata giggle before her expression fell, "I... Sakura-san... You don't mind? Me telling Naruto that is... I know that you two are close and well... I know Naruto really likes you a lot and... I wouldn't want to stand in the way if..."

Sakura nearly slipped off a branch as her concentration slipped. "You think Naruto and I have something going on?"

"I... well... I didn't mean to imply... um... yes... maybe?"

Sakura ducked a wayward, thorny branch before replying, "It's true. Naruto and I are close. We've been a team for so long he's become family to me, like the sibling I never had. I guess it's easy to think we have something going. Once upon a time there may have been a possibility but I think when we were genin Naruto's crush on me was more about competing with Sasuke than actual feelings. I don't think Naruto's sees me as anything more than a friend now. It's obvious to everyone that he is into you even if he doesn't know it yet."

Hinata didn't seem all that convinced, "He does go out of his way to try to make you happy. Even when he does it all wrong..."

Sakura chuckled, "Of course he does. I'm his family and as he grows closer to you, you will realize that he would do the same for you too. That's just how Naruto is. He would try to give the world to those he cares about, even he screws up most of the time... Give it time. You'll see."

"Do... Do you really think so?" Hinata asked, her question brimming with hope.

"I know so." Sakura smiled, "Let's get home to that knucklehead and see what trouble he's gotten into."

"Do you think Danzou will cause us any grief?"

The lightheartedness of their conversation disintegrated quickly. Sakura's brow furrowed in determination as she surged forward, "If he does, I won't go down without a fight."

"Nor will I," Hinata agreed, as she picked up the pace.

The Suna ninjas watched the Leaf kunoichi pick up the speed.

"Not again," Eiji grumbled sourly.

"I know what is it with these Leaf ninja?" Masao complained. "One minute they were all sappy and then the next they're running like demons are after them. What gives?"

"Don't complain too loudly, friend. Remember what Kazekage-sama said before we left. If he catches wind of any wrongdoings on our part he would..." Eiji shuddered as he ran to catch up with Hinata and Sakura.

"I know! I know! Don't remind me..." Masao sighed. "Gaara-sama is so harsh sometimes."

When Eiji finally caught up with his team leader, he was winded and more than a bit irritable. Much to his relief, Sakura decided to call a halt to their marathon.

"We will rest here for an hour. How far are we from Konoha now, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"At our current pace, we should reach Konohagakure by sunset."

"Great. We all remember the drill. Should the guards behave suspiciously Plan A will be in effect. Hinata and I will take on the form of Masao and Eiji and you two vice versa. Hinata and I will send out clones to enter the village from the opposite side and find Tsunade. If Danzou has grown suspicious of my return, he will have the guards arrest me on sight. He's rather predictable. So be prepared don't let your guards down."

The motley crew nodded at Sakura's commands.

"It's a wonder you don't have your own team yet, Sakura-san..." Eiji marveled at her air of authority.

Sakura shrugged, "I'm just a chuunin and medic nin in training. I have a ways to go before I'm experienced enough for such responsibilities. I don't even think I'm trained enough to become a Jounin."

"You do make a great leader though," Hinata chimed in.

The pink haired kunoichi blushed at the attention, "You flatter me. I'm just doing what anyone of you guys would do I think."

The hour seemed to pass far too quickly for some before the team was back to bounding through the trees. Anticipation and anxiety swirled in Sakura's stomach as the gates of Konoha came into her vision. Forming hand signals rapidly, she disappeared in a puff of smoke before reappearing as Masao. A clone of Sakura dashed off into the trees, circling the perimeter of the village. Taking her lead, the rest of the team followed in her actions and transformed mid-stride. In the end, the team would discover that their careful planning was in vain. To Sakura's surprise, she found Izumo and Kotetsu lounging rather carelessly in their usual post at the gate. The Chuunin greeted the group rather genially.

"Oh there you are Haruno. Tsunade-sama has been expecting you." Izumo announced with a lopsided grin, to Masao disguised as Sakura.

"Tsunade-sama? I thought..." Masao squeaked in an unconvincing imitation of Sakura's voice.

Izumo frowned. "What's wrong with you? You're voice is all weird?"

"I... ahhh..." Masao laughed nervously, "I caught a really bad bug in Suna. My voice has yet to recover... haha..."

Sakura looked over at Masao with an awful glare and Hinata, disguised as Eiji, stifled a giggle behind her/his hand.

Kotetsu eyed the group's odd behavior warily before speaking, "Well, whatever the case, our Hokage is expecting a report immediately so don't go wandering off."

As the group moved forward, Sakura caught the whispers of the gatekeepers.

"What's with her voice? Think she's going through puberty again?" Izumo snickered.

"Even with the pink hair, I thought she was kind of boyish... Maybe she..."

Feeling her temper spark, Sakura broke her transformation with a terse yell of "Kai" and attacked Kotetsu. "Finish that sentence, Kotetsu," she growled as her hands squeezed his throat, "and you are a dead man..."

The rest of her group sighed in exasperation and entered the fray at the front gate, pulling an enraged Sakura off her fellow Leaf Ninja. Somewhere on the edge of Konoha, two clones shook their heads before disappearing into nothingness.

***

Yeah!!! I finished another chapter. I'm excited by all the views and reviews I've been receiving. However, that is not the main motivation for writing so worry not that I will start pestering you for reviews and such. It's all up to you. I surely appreciate any reviews, criticisms and I am flame retarded... eh I mean retardant... Not that I have gotten any of those yet... As far as flames go... If you don't agree with me about my story feel free to make yourself heard in a constructive manner. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and if I feel your argument is relevant, you and I can enter into a dialogue about it. Otherwise, we will just have to agree to disagree, ne?

***


	5. The One Left Behind

***

I'm not cool enough to own Naruto. Anyways, I need to clarify the timeline just so everyone knows what's going on. The 1st chapter of this story starts with Sakura in Otogakure. The subsequent chapters are meant to fill the readers in on the 6 years leading up to Sakura's travels to Oto. I will eventually get back to the place in the story where I began. I'm not sure if it's necessary to do an update year by year. I haven't decided how many chapters the 6 year span will encompass either. Oh well. I will just go with the flow.

***

Fifteen minutes later, a less than calm Sakura arrived at the Hokage Tower. Her companions eyed her warily as the kunoichi grumbled several foul words. Hinata walked beside her the medic ninja but dared not speak. Masao and Eiji trailed behind her a bit so that they would not become victims of her foul temper _again._ The Sand Jounin unfortunately received a few of her chakra laden blows in the fray that exploded at Konoha's Gate.

"So much for being inconspicuous..." Eiji muttered under his breath to Masao.

His partner rubbed his sore ribs and nodded in agreement. The moment he opened his mouth to reply, Sakura turned on the two Nin with a deadly glare.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, her tone dangerously calm.

"Ahh... haha. Eiji said he is ticklish. Right Eiji?!" Masao lied unconvincingly with a forced laugh.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am. Hahaha." Eiji piped in, before cowering when he noticed Sakura didn't seem convinced. "Please don't kill us..."

The irate kunoichi paused mid-tirade as she realized that her aggression was frightening her teammates. Taking a deep breath to control her irritation, Sakura shook her head before rubbing her temples. "Sorry about that back there. I should have ignored the idiot. He seems to rub me the wrong way sometimes. I also apologize for busting our cover. It's obvious by now that if something fishy was going on in Konoha, Danzou would have made his move already. Anyways, let's go see Tsunade-sama and get to the bottom of this."

When the haggard group reached the double doors of the Hokage's office, Sakura was almost too scared to knock. Raising her fist to rap lightly on the mahogany doors, she hesitated as her thoughts too a turn for the worse. In the space of a second, she considered that this may be all a hoax.

"_What if Danzou is waiting for me behind that door? What if..."_

"Sakura... are you okay." Hinata inquired, speaking for the first time since the pink haired kunoichi decided that Kotetsu needed his face "creatively rearranged" at the front gate.

The medic ninja looked over at the Hyuuga girl with a strained expression on her face that belied her answer, "I'm great. No, I am more than great." Steeling herself against whatever repercussions may come upon entering the office, she knocked twice on the heavy door before her.

"Enter," a sharp but undeniably feminine voice commanded from inside.

Sakura's heart leapt in her chest as she recognized her shisou's voice. Yet, she was still cautious as she twisted the handle and stepped into the airy expanse of the Hokage's office. Behind a large desk overflowing with stacks of paperwork, Tsunade sat puzzling over a large scroll. Tonton, the blond woman's pet pig, squealed amiably at Sakura and trotted over to nudge her leg. After staring at her paperwork without acknowledging the newcomers, the Hokage mumbled something incoherent before fixing her sharp, amber-eyed stare on her apprentice.

"You're late." She snapped.

"I'm what?!" Sakura exploded, having reached her limit. Her temper overrode her relief at confirming that her mentor was alive and well. Well accustomed to both women's fits of temper, Tonton trotted to a corner that was a safe distance away from the combatants.

Having decided to remain as far away as possible from their team leader, Masao and Eiji took a tentative step backwards. The chakra emanating from the women seated behind the desk was immense, not to mention, Sakura was as volatile as stick of dynamite.

"I'm late! I'm late?! I spent the better part of 3 whole days running at breakneck speed to what could only be a sure death or permanent imprisonment and all you have to say is "You're late..."?!" the younger woman rasped as the gravity of the situation came crashing down upon her.

At that point Hinata thought it prudent to step in to ease the situation. Wringing her hands nervously, she whispered a fervent warning, "Now Sakura, you have to calm down."

Tsunade's eyes snapped to the Hyuuga heiress as she spoke, "She most certainly should. Hinata, escort our guests from Suna to dinner on me. Accommodations have already been prepared from them."

The black haired woman hesitated, casting a nervous glance at her temporary teammate before the Hokage's terse voice spurred her to action, "Now, Hyuuga!"

Hinata nodded quickly before herding the two Suna Jounin out of the room in a hurry. A charged silence crowded the room as the pink haired kunoichi stood rigidly before her superior. Sakura felt a lump form in her throat as she struggled to maintain her silence. She wouldn't dare admit to the woman before her that she had been frantic with worry ever since she left Konoha weeks ago. She considered her stern mentor to be her only remaining family in the village besides Naruto. Before she became a genin, her father, a civilian merchant, died after a group of low grade missing-nin raided his caravan as they traveled from the Land of the Swamps back to Konohagakure. Tetsuo Haruno's remains were barely identifiable after the rogues finished with him. His death made Sakura determined to become a ninja so that she could protect those she cared for.

Because of their ill fortune at the hands of ninjas, Sakura's mother held a deep mistrust of shinobi. Hotaru Haruno tried in vain to convince her young daughter to give up her dreams of becoming a kunoichi, get married and lead a normal life. Arguments over her daughter's life choices occurred almost daily. The distance between mother and daughter widened considerably when Tsunade took on Sakura as an apprentice. Never having truly recovered from her husband's death, Hotaru's spirit completely cracked when Akatsuki's invasion ended in the destruction of their home and the remaining memories of her long-dead spouse. Hotaru's inconsolability and Sakura's responsibilities to Konoha as a kunoichi rendered her incapable of comforting her mother. In the end, her mother found solace with a distant aunt living on the border of the Tea Country rather than relocating to Sunagakure. Even though they were not particularly close at the time, the young kunoichi took her mother's departure hard.

"_In the end, am I always destined to watch everyone's backs? Will I ever be able to do something to help those I care about?" _Sakura thought to herself as she averted her gaze from her master, clenching her fists in frustration.

Tsunade watched her apprentice war with her own tumultuous emotions with in silence. Had she been a better woman, perhaps she would have offered a kind word to ease her student's sorrows. The life of a ninja was a hard one and no one knew that better than the Hokage herself. Being surrounded by loss and death left her callous and weary. She was never one to coddle her apprentice. Despite her outward insensitivity, she held a soft spot for the child because Sakura reminded her of her youth when she had a heart filled with hope and unscarred by reality.

"Are you going to stand there and sulk all day like a child? I have better things to do, you know..." Tsunade sighed.

"I am not sulking..." the kunoichi snapped mulishly.

In rejoinder, her master arched a golden blond brow.

"Okay fine... I'm sulking a little." Sakura conceded. "Tell me what happened here. I only left for a moment and everything goes haywire while I'm gone."

Heaving another sigh, the elder woman beckoned her apprentice to sit, "This is going to be a long story and I think you need to sit down..."

The medic ninja listened attentively as her mentor recounted the events that lead up to her capture. Sakura's face twisted in disgust as Tsunade described Danzou and the Council's betrayal. A smile graced her face as she discovered how Sai defied his master to bring bits of information to the deposed Hokage and protect her from harm. However, the smile fell as Tsunade nearly brought the report to an end. The rose haired girl felt the floor drop out from beneath her as the Sannin retold the final night of her imprisonment.

"Sasuke... Sasuke returned to Konoha?" she whispered in shock.

"Yes, but not for the reasons you think. That boy came back to exact revenge on this village." Tsunade responded gravely.

"Revenge on Konoha? Why would he... Konoha is his home. Why would he want revenge? What about Itachi?"

"It would seem Itachi was only following the orders sent down from Konoha's council. Apparently, rebellion was stirring amongst the Uchiha clan. Once negotiations went sour between the Uchihas and the council, the order to exterminate the clan was passed on to Konoha's sympathizer and double agent, Itachi Uchiha."

Sakura's voice stuck in her throat as she tried to take in her shisou's words. She shook her head in disbelief at the cruelty of the council's judgment.

"I have never agreed with Danzou's warmongering style of governance. He and the Council preferred to exterminate the Uchihas rather than engage in what promised to be a messy and violent upheaval. There could have been some other way but... Death and war are the way of ninjas. We deal with destruction on a daily basis. In the eyes of Konoha's council their decision was for the greater good of our village. I cannot say how I would have handled this situation..."

"Sasuke was never meant to survive, was he?" Sakura asked sadly.

Tsunade nodded slowly, "If it had not been for Itachi's threat to reveal the truth about the Uchiha massacre, another shinobi would have finished the job eventually. Ironically, Sasuke nearly helped in meeting his own demise, running off and becoming a missing-nin."

"I can't believe... I mean... All the years, he suffered." Sakura whispered brokenly.

The Hokage advised sternly, "Do not waste your pity on a man who does not want it, Sakura. It will do neither you nor him any good. Sasuke Uchiha made his choice long before he stepped foot outside of Konoha. He only returned to complete the circle of hatred and death Danzou and the council began."

The words sunk into young woman's head slowly as she came to a painful revelation, "Danzou and the council are dead, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"What will happen to him now, shisou?"

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, before raising her hands to massage her aching temples, "Right now he is in custody of ANBU. An offense such as his would warrant execution..."

Sakura felt her heart stop beating in her chest at the mention of execution. In her mind she knew that it was possible, but she could not fathom that Sasuke would die so soon after returning home.

The older woman saw her apprentice grow deathly pale as she continued, "Before you go getting yourself all worked up, I said "would warrant execution". There are quite a few loopholes to work with. Given that the council betrayed me and deceived the remaining population of Konoha, they made themselves enemies of this village. Besides that, the Uchiha boy took down several S-class ninja including Deidara and Orochimaru. Not to mention, saving me. He even agreed to cooperate fully with the Interrogation Unit and ANBU. My newly appointed council is aware of these facts. However, that doesn't mean Sasuke will be released without punishment, Sakura. Don't go getting your hopes up especially where this boy is concerned."

"Yes, shisou..."Sakura replied. Tsunade's reassurances lifted some of the weight that settled on her troubled heart.

"Sakura..." Tsunade began gravely, pinning her student with her amber gaze, "I have but one request. Trust me on whatever sentence we decide. We have to do what is best for our village."

Sakura nodded even as a ball of anxiety formed in the pit of her stomach, "I understand, Tsunade-sama... When is the sentencing?"

"Two days from now. I have a million things to do before then. Apparently, disbanding and reorganizing a secret assassination squad results in a lot of paperwork. We all know how much I love that..." Tsunade grumbled before going back to reviewing a scroll on her desk. After a moment, she looked up to find Sakura still sitting before her. "Why are you still here? Get out of my sight unless you want some forms to fill out... I expect a full report of Suna's progress tomorrow morning. In the meanwhile, get some rest. By the way, if you want to see the Uchiha boy, he should be in one of ANBU's holding cells. I've already authorized Team 7's visitation rights... Naruto is probably there now..."

Sakura sprang to her feet quickly, heading for the door before the Hokage could foist a pile of paperwork on her. Just as her hand touched the door, Tsunade left her with one last bit of advice.

"Before you get caught up rejoicing Sasuke's return, remember he is not the boy you remember from your genin days and you most certainly aren't the girl you once were years ago. Don't let your memories fool you into seeing something that isn't there."

Her master's advice whirled in her head as she walked out of the Hokage tower and into the dark streets of Konoha. A fraction of her just wanted to run to Sasuke's cell and just soak in his presence. Another part of her wanted to simply go to her makeshift apartment and curl up in the darkness. It was all too much to take in. All these years, she and Naruto fought tooth and nail to bring Sasuke home. Now he was back of his own accord and she felt so off balance about it. She wandered aimlessly through the streets staring at the skeletons of buildings in the process of being reconstructed.

"_Sasuke only has two days before his sentencing. I don't think Tsunade will execute him but who knows what will happen... I should go but... What's wrong with me? Why am I so hesitant to see him?" _Sakura thought. _"Tsunade is right. Sasuke has changed. I saw it with my own eyes when we found him at Orochimaru's base. He was so cold, so inhuman. As much I love Sasuke, I knew nothing about the man I met that day. It was almost like he saw straight through me. It didn't seem to matter whether or not I was there. He didn't seem to care. I don't know if I can face him like this. I'm afraid... "_

Despite her fear of facing Sasuke, she inadvertently ended up in front of the Hokage Tower once again. She knew that ANBU's headquarters and holding cells were accessible by underground tunnels running beneath the tower. Few were privy to such information but being the Hokage's loyal apprentice certainly did come with its perks.

"Stop being a coward and go face that man, Sakura..." she muttered to herself after another moment of hesitation. "Let's just get this over with..."

After navigating through eerily quiet underground tunnels with flickering overhead lights, Sakura found herself standing before an individual wearing a porcelain hawk mask and a dark robe. He appeared to be standing guard before a black metal door.

Putting on her best authoritative expression, Sakura spoke with confidence, "The Hokage granted me visitation rights to Sasuke Uchiha."

"Is that so?" the masked agent inquired, his voice rough and gravelly.

"Yes... May I please be directed to his cell?" she replied, refusing to be cowed by the intimidating figure.

"I suppose I could do that..." the ANBU agent shrugged and turned to press a concealed button causing the metal door to slide open. "Daito, we have a visitor. Take her to cellblock 228."

"She wants to see the last Uchiha, eh? I didn't know they let fan girls into ANBU headquarters...?" Daito jeered from a shadowy corner.

Sakura bristled at his tone. ANBU or not, she was willing to take a swing if continued to test her patience.

"Just do it, man. This one is the Hokage's apprentice. I highly doubt you want to get on this one's bad side."

A tall ANBU agent wearing a cat mask appeared in front Sakura in a puff of smoke, "Fine. I'll take her." Daito sighed. "You get an hour kid. There is already some loud blond kid there making a ruckus."

"Do you ever look at your files man? That's Naruto Uzumaki..." the other agent retorted.

"Yeah, I do. He's still a blond obnoxious kid..."

"If we could get this moving along now... I don't really have a lifetime to waste here." Sakura snapped impatiently. _I didn't work up the nerve to come here so I could listen to the idle banter of these two_.

"Hold your horses, firecracker." Daito laughed, "This one is going to be a handful I see, Sora. Come on pinky. Your missing nin prince waits..."

Sakura heard the man named Sora chuckle as she followed Daito up a long corridor lined with think metal doors. The ANBU ninja had to feel her glare burning into his shoulder blades. If he did, he gaze no sign, resolutely whistling as he led through a series of twist and turns. He paused as he came to a hallway lined with cells.

"Ahh, here we are girly. The kid is still here so you won't be lonely. That Uchiha kid makes poor company. No conversation skills whatsoever. If you need me, I will be around this corner. If not, you got an hour to chat him up or stare at him. Whichever, whatever..." Daito disappeared with a one shouldered shrug.

"What an obnoxious man..." Sakura muttered to herself as she rounded the corner to find Naruto sitting before Sasuke's cell. She caught snatches of his words as she approached.

"After all this fucking time, you finally made your way back to Konoha you bastard. Sakura made me promise to drag your sorry ass back and you made break another promise. What a pain... What was that Bastard?! If you weren't in that cell I would..."

The pink haired kunoichi could feel her heart accelerate as she drew close. Naruto turned to her when she was a couple feet away. "Sakura-chan!!! Look what Akamaru drug in. It's Sasuke. The Bastard is back."

"_Naruto was just as hyper as ever..." _Sakura laughed inwardly at that thought, "I know, Naruto." Sakura approached Naruto first, giving a quick once over to make sure all was well with him and then ruffled his fair hair playfully. "You have a knack for stating the obvious, Naruto-kun."

"Aww, come on don't go bursting my bubble." Naruto whined before pointing at the young man sitting against the far wall of his cell, "Rip _him_ a new one, Sakura."

It took every ounce of her self-discipline to keep her outwardly calm façade as she glanced at Sasuke Uchiha. He appeared irreverent and unfazed by the high powered chakra draining manacles circling his wrists and ankles. He slouched with feline grace against the back wall of his prison cell with one leg bent, an elbow leaning on his knee, hand propping up his head. He was not even looking in their direction, opting to pointedly ignore his guests.

"Hello Sasuke," Sakura chimed in, "Welcome back..."

The young merely grunted in response, not even glancing in her direction.

"Wow, I totally forgot how very social he was..." Sakura muttered.

Naruto laughed in response, "Team 7 is reunited finally. I can't wait to until we get back to doing missions..."

Sakura turned to Naruto, frowning slightly, "Naruto, I don't know if we should get ahead of ourselves."

"What do you mean? You think Granny is going to throw the book at him? He saved her life, you know. There is no way..."

"Sakura's right, idiot. Don't get ahead of yourself. You don't know what they are going to do with me." Sasuke bit out coldly, finally directing his dark gaze to the two individuals sitting before him. "I didn't 'save Tsunade' as you put it. She just wasn't my prime target. I didn't come to play hero."

A moment of heavy silence descended on them and tension crackled in the air. Suddenly the prisoner locked gazes with the kunoichi, sending a jolt through her system. Sasuke tilted his head slightly as his almond-shaped jet black eyes bore into Sakura's glistening green ones. She remembered how painfully beautiful he was in that moment. His features were aristocratic and well defined. His face was beginning to lose to softness of adolescence revealing high cheek bones and a strong chin. Although he was frowning, his mouth was well formed and sinful. His blue black hair framed his face haphazardly. His hair was a bit longer but his trademark spiky locks were still intact. He was such a tragic, splendid creature, born to avenge and suffer for crimes that were not his own. Sakura felt a deep sadness for him that she knew the Uchiha would never allow himself to feel well up deep inside her.

His mocking voice ripped through the quiet, "Is that pity I see, Sakura?"

She looked away quickly, clenching her jaw in an effort not to cry. Tsunade's advice roared in her head. "I don't pity you..."

The imprisoned young man shrugged, "Not a good liar either... You never change do you?"

Sakura stiffened at his barbed statement. She knew the implications of his simple questions and they cut her to the quick. Sasuke probably didn't know or care that he was the reason she was so insecure and broken after he left. Neither he nor her former sensei Kakashi saw her potential as a kunoichi. In the end both abandoned her, even though the latter had good intentions. His benign neglect only reinforced her lack of self-confidence.

"Of course she has," Naruto quickly hopped to his best friend's defense. "She's one of the best damn medic nin and kunoichi in Konoha. She's almost better than Tsunade."

Sasuke shrugged again, "Right."

"Geez, Bastard. You really are a ray of sunshine. I swear you can suck the fun out of damn near everything." Naruto sighed, running his fingers through his mussed hair.

Daito reappeared at the moment, "Hey loudmouth, your time is up. Pinky gets to stay."

Naruto hesitated when he glanced at Sakura's strained features.

"Don't worry Naruto. I will be right behind you in a second. We can go somewhere and catch up on things." Sakura forced enthusiasm into her tone.

"You hear that Bastard. Sakura and I are going out on a date. Aren't you jealous?" Naruto jeered.

Sasuke kept silent while drawing his knees up to his chest and resting both of his arms on them. His handsome face remained impassive.

Naruto replied, even though his blue eyes were tinged with worry, "Alright then... I will be waiting for outside."

Sakura merely nodded. The duo soon disappeared leaving Sakura and Sasuke to sit in cold silence. After a few minutes of debating, the kunoichi crouched before his cell taking hold of the prison bars. "Sasuke, why are you here?"

At first it seemed as if he intended to ignore her. During the course of the lengthening silence, Sakura began cursing herself for even asking.

"You know why..." Sasuke finally replied.

"I know somewhat. Tsunade told me what happened to you... to the Uchihas... but... Why get caught? Why let it come to this?"

The young man finally let a smirk grace his face, "For a girl who said she loved me once, you don't seem all that happy to see me..."

Sakura froze for a minute, shocked that he even remembered her words on that fateful night. She knew that he was mocking her for her childish declaration of love. "Ugh. Must you make this difficult?" She groaned in frustration. "Wait. You're the epitome of difficult. How could I be so foolish to forget that fact...?"

"Hn..."

Sakura deflated before flinging her hands up in frustration. "I give up. This is not how I wanted our first conversation in nearly four years to go. For once, Naruto is right. There really is no point in talking to you."

Before she could stand a large hand encased her wrist, pulling her forward. Sasuke managed to move so quickly that she barely saw his movements. Now they were more or less face to face despite the bars keeping them apart.

"Did you mean it?" Sasuke asked. His tone was intense and gaze smoldered as he stared into her eyes.

"Did I mean what?" Sakura gasped, distracted at the feel of his warm calloused hand on her skin. Sasuke never initiated contact with her before and now she could feel small shocks of sensation shooting through her body and pooling in her stomach.

"What you said before I left the village that night. Did you mean it?" He reiterated. The intensity of his gaze increased.

She could almost feel herself getting lost in him, "Yes. I meant every word. I... I... wanted to be by your side and I promise to do whatever I can to help you when you get out of here."

A smirk that almost looked like a smile graced his features as he released her from his hold. His tone was filled with smug satisfaction as if he had already known the answer, "Good."

Sakura frowned and rubbed her wrist. She felt a bit off-kilter at his cryptic reply. Standing up abruptly, she stepped back from his cell. Her former teammate mimicked her actions. He was almost a full head taller than she was.

"You never answered my question, Sasuke." She whispered, not meeting his piercing stare.

"You'll know soon enough." He replied.

Realizing that she wouldn't get any more out of him, the kunoichi decided to make her exit. "I think it's time I caught up with Naruto." She felt inexplicably awkward and could not shake the feeling that their conversation had gone totally wrong somehow.

"Aa..."

"Okay well... I'll be going then." After once last glance, Sakura turned and beat a hasty retreat.

"See you later, Sakura..." Sasuke smirked as he watched her walk away.

***

Another chapter is done!!!! This chapter was a bit tricky. Sakura seems to be a kaleidoscope of emotions but what can you expect? She came home thinking she would have to fight for her life only to find herself face to face with the man who broke her heart. I hope the scene between Sakura and Sasuke came off as painfully awkward as I thought it was. I hardly think a confrontation between the two would be the sickeningly sweet affair we all hope for. She's still young at this point in the story (16 yrs old if you are following my crazy timeline) but she has matured a great deal since her ill fated love confession as a genin.

*I fixed a little snafu I made some time ago. I nixed the Ichiraiku's reference because it totally ruins the continuity for the next chapter. Thanks to one of my readers I finally noticed.


	6. Trial By Fire

***

Ah, another chapter is done! We are growing close to Sakura's journey to Sound. Maybe a few more chapters and the story will be back up to speed. I feel that there is no need to write chapters year by year because I think it would be a little tedious. Each chapter will be a progression, a combination of milestones and information significant to Sakura's life and the development of the story. Did anyone figure out what Sakura's unfortunate promise she mentioned in Chap. 1 was? I will give you a cookie if you remember. LOL. Anyways, I appreciate the story alert and favorite adds. Thank you for all your support. Although I will never ask for reviews or enforce a review policy as a part of chapter updates, I must admit I get as giddy as a 4 year old with candy when I get a review. Even if you don't review, I still know you are out there, I watch my story stats too!!! I still see you!!! :)

***

Tsunade sat at the head of the table, fingers pressed against her throbbing temples.

Shikaku Nara, Hiashi Hyuuga, Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi sat at the table as well, each lost in their own thoughts as a heavy silence descended on the room. Following the untimely demise of Konoha's council, Tsunade gathered together some the village's most influential clan leaders. Each individual dutifully served Konoha as shinobi and provided guidance to some of the most promising ninja in the village. Now their wisdom would serve to not only lead their clans but also judiciously guide Konohagakure.

Despite the collective intelligence present in the conference room, the Hokage and her newly appointed council were at a stalemate. After deliberating for hours, they could not come to an agreement Sasuke Uchiha's fate.

"This is just troublesome..." Shikaku muttered as he braced his head on his hand.

"Nara..." Tsunade growled in annoyance.

"Pardon my saying so, but I must agree with Shikaku. No matter what decision we make, we will end up suffering repercussions." Inoichi sighed.

Choza sighed, "The Uchiha deserved the right to avenge his clan and regain his future. I do not think it would do us any good to execute him. Why continue this vicious cycle of death?"

Hiashi shook his head I disapproval, "He is a missing nin who executed our council. If we just let him fly free, how will be viewed by other villages? We are already vulnerable, our verdict cannot be soft."

A frown settled between Tsunade's smooth brows, "I'm aware of this. However, I am against execution as is Choza. At this point in time, I do not want unnecessary bloodshed on my hands. It's not as if we couldn't put a proper spin on our verdict to make the deaths of the council members seem reasonable. We cannot deny that they were guilty of treason and fraud, not to mention genocide. Besides, keeping the boy alive can prove advantageous. Did he not divulge valuable information about Sound, Yamanaka?"

"Surprisingly yes. He seemed almost too ready to tell us what we wanted to know. However, there were parts of his mind clearly locked away. I managed to unravel the mental blocks and traps Pein placed on that Rain ninja but Sasuke's mind were almost indecipherable at times. I couldn't break him." Inoichi replied.

"How do we know he will keep his promises to leave Konoha unscathed by his needs for revenge?" Hiashi questioned.

"The problem is we don't..." Shikaku countered, "The quickest road to eliminating any future threat from the Uchiha would be to terminate him. But Tsunade is correct. If we allow him to live, we can reap some of the benefits. He mentioned subduing Sound, a village which will prove problematic now that Konoha's defense is at an all time low. His pursuit may be the end of him anyway. Sound ninjas are known to be particularly ruthless. However, if we keep our word and he does succeed, we may have a new ally on our hands."

"Perhaps we could have Hunter Nin track his progress. If his movements prove to be suspicious we could eliminate him." Choza commented.

Hiashi shrugged, "That might work..."

Tsunade nodded, "Now it seems we are getting somewhere."

Inoichi grumbled, "If we are dead set on making reparations then..."

Hiashi grunted in disagreement, "I'm not dead set on such a thing but I realize the folly of trying to take the easiest road."

Shikaku rubbed his chin contemplatively, "It wouldn't do to begin making the same mistakes the old council made but..."

Tsunade through her hands up in frustration at her new council's inability to make a concrete decision. "Okay we've been deliberating over this issue for damn near three days, it times to make a choice and stick to it. We will be prosecuting Sasuke in two hours." Her golden eyes raked over every man seated at the conference table, "So all in favor of exile say 'Aye'."

***

The tension in the crowd was palpable. The few remaining citizens of Konoha crowded around a makeshift platform large enough to hold a handful of people. On the platform stood Tsunade, two ANBU and one chained Sasuke Uchiha. Despite more than a half of the village population's absence, there was a considerable throng of people waiting to see what would become of the last known Uchiha. Murmurs rippled through the crowd as some murmured predictions to their companions.

"Their going to kill him, ya' think?" a red haired boy muttered to an older man standing behind him.

"I don't know boy. Damn shame, I'd say. Being the last Uchiha and all that..." the man replied.

Eerily silent amidst the sea of conjecture and anxious whispers, stood a tense trio with grim expressions. Sakura stood to Naruto's right, her face stoic belying the tumultuous feelings roiling in her gut. Her cerise eyes were trained on the chained young man facing the crowd so calmly that it one could barely believe that today might be his last. Hinata stood on the blond shinobi's left, her hand gripping his tightly. Yesterday, he quietly requested that the Hyuuga heiress be by his side during the proceedings. Knowing that both Sakura and Naruto would need the support, she agreed. Hinata would never turn down the opportunity to be there for the man she loved for so long. Attempting to catch a glimpse of the quiet young medic who had quickly become her confidant on all things Naruto, the black haired kunoichi leaned forward to look around her beloved. The pink haired young woman's expression was bleak and there were light shadows beneath her eyes.

'_If this doesn't go well will Sakura let anyone pick up the pieces? I know that she loved Sasuke so much. As much as I love Naruto...'_ Hinata wondered.

As if hearing her thoughts, Sakura briefly returned her gaze, offering an attempt at a smile for her fellow kunoichi. Hinata gave a hopeful smile in return but could not help but to think that the medic nin's smile was heartbreaking and ever so vulnerable. Breaking the silent exchange, the rose-haired woman's intense stare returned to Sasuke. His seemed uninterested in the proceedings, lazily scanning the crowd until his gaze settled upon Sakura. Upon seeing her pale, drawn features, a smirk formed on his lips, breaking his bored façade. He was so arrogant even as he possibly faced he specter of Death. That little half-smile made her heart leap in her chest even as her temper sparked. Inadvertently her mind traveled back to her last interaction with the missing Nin earlier that morning. Against her better judgment she visited his cell once again, hoping to resolve some her own feelings about his return.

_Sakura approached the silent cell hesitantly. There was still a chance to turn back. She couldn't justify why she returned to this cell. It was hair-brained idea, a decision made a mere second after waking from some god-awful nightmare involving Sasuke. Part of her knew that she may regret not seeing him one more time before the council announced his sentencing while another part of her knew that nothing good would could of a conversation with Sasuke Uchiha. Yesterday's brief visit left the young kunoichi shaken and confused. He was reticent as usual but his ebony eyes held mocking secrets. He treated her no different then he had at Orochimaru's hideout. She was barely acknowledged until Naruto left. Even then he refused to give her straight answer. _

'_What am I doing?' Sakura sighed inwardly, even as she stood before his cell._

_The prisoner slouched insolently against the cell's wall and watched her silently. After a moment, he disrupted the heavy silence with a derisive comment, "Back so soon..."_

_The Leaf kunoichi could feel her temper sparking, Sasuke seemed to rub her the wrong way. She responded just as sarcastically, "Lovely to see you too, Sasuke-kun..." _

_Sasuke grunted before unfolding gracefully and approaching Sakura, "Why are you here, Sakura?"_

_Sakura released a long breath that she didn't even know she was holding. Her gaze slid from his uncomfortably as she confessed," I... I don't even know."_

_Uchiha's small mocking laugh seemed to echo in her head, "Come to give me my last rites then?"_

_The young woman's green eyes snapped to his onyx ones, "Don't talk like that!"_

"_Talk like what? You don't want to hear harsh reality, do you? You were never fit for the life of a warrior, of a kunoichi. That's one of the reasons I could have never taken you with me."_

_Although Sakura felt the insult as if it were a punch in her gut, she remained silent unable to respond._

"_You let your emotions rule you're every action."_

"_No!" the young woman snapped a little too loudly, "It was you ruled by emotions, by notions of vengeance..."_

_Sasuke countered smoothly, "and you were ruled by notions of love... You still are but the Sasuke you thought you knew never existed. You love a phantom."_

_The pink haired kunoichi cried, feeling her throat tightening with emotion, "It's not true. I know you better than you think. I know how it feels to lose the ones you love..."_

"_Don't compare your experience to mine. Neither you know nor Naruto know a damn thing about what it feels like to be me." The Uchiha heir snarled between clenched teeth._

"_You think you're the only one in the world who knows what it means to suffer. You're not the only one, you know? You're not the only one who has ever known tragedy or endured loss. Being human is being able to empathize..."_

"_I don't need your empathy or your pity." Sasuke retorted._

"_I guess you don't need my love either, do you?" She asked brokenly._

_The young man observed the myriad of emotions crossing Sakura's face, "I never asked you to love me. I never promised I would return it."_

_He spoke with a cavalier cruelty that twisted her heart in her chest. Sakura turned away from him, determined not to let him see her cry, "Coming here was a mistake. I just wanted to..."_

_Sasuke reached through the bars of his cell, gripping her trembling shoulders with his large warm hands, "Don't cry for me. I don't deserve that." _

_The kunoichi attempted to shrug him off, but he persisted until she turned around. The look on his face arrested the words that almost tumbled from her lips. His face was solemn, his onyx eyes glowing intensely with some unknown emotion._

"_Such emotion..." he traced the glistening path of her tears with a fingertip. "The best choice I've ever made was to leave you here."_

_Sakura shook herself from her trance, jerking away from his reach, "I don't know why I let you do this to me..."_

"_Because you love me..."_

_A bitter laugh escaped her lips and she roughly wiped away her tears, "Look where that got me..." _

"_Sakura..."_

_She released a gusty sigh, as she struggled to compose herself, "You say I'm not fit to be a kunoichi..."_

_The Uchiha heir was conspicuously silent._

_Sakura shook her head in resignation before looking down at her hands. They were slim and a little bit tanned from her stay in Suna. The nails were cut ruthlessly short. These hands gave life and took it away. These were the hands of a trained kunoichi. "You're right, Sasuke. I'm too emotional. I make mistakes and I'm often too optimistic by half. But I've changed too. I'm not the foolish girl I used to be. I know harsh reality far better than you could ever know. I've spent most of my life watching everyone I've ever loved leave me behind. I've trained night and day to be better and although I'm not where I want to be, I am a kunoichi." Her voice lowered to a whisper as she continued, "No matter how hard I try, I would probably never add up to anything in your eyes. It's you who will never see the truth." _

_Another silence descended, leaving the pair to their private thoughts. Sakura decided to quit the scene after the silence became too much for her, "The guards will be here to take you away soon. It's time for me to go." _

_She felt his eyes follow her as she walked. Despite her better judgment, she paused at the corner. "Sasuke... are you afraid?"_

"_I've never been afraid to face my fate."_

_Sakura shook her head sadly. If only he could be vulnerable, be a little more human. For Sasuke Uchiha emotions were a weakness, an excess he could not afford. The young kunoichi had to remind herself of that as the distance grew between them._

Sakura could feel her heartbreaking in her chest as she watched Sasuke up on that stage. They were only moments from hearing the verdict, a careful product of a week-long deliberation by Konoha's council. She could feel Naruto grab her hand as Tsunade finally opened her mouth to speak.

Tsunade's amber gaze swept over the crowd, as her booming voice filled the air, "We, the citizens of Konoha, stand here to receive the verdict of the Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha clan. He stands before his peers to receive judgment for abandonment, treason and manslaughter. Sasuke Uchiha, before the decree of the council is revealed, do you have anything to say in your defense."

The crowd mumbled and gasped as their full attention focused on the defendant.

His deep voice carried over the murmur, "No, I do not."

"He doesn't deny it... He has balls, I tell you what." a man standing close to Sakura commented.

The young kunoichi huddled closer to her best friend and teammate. Even though she knew what was coming next, her heart sped up unbearably. She almost missed Tsunade's words over the hammering of her own heartbeat.

"The Uchiha Clan has held a long, illustrious history. It is with much shame I announce that Konoha had a hand in ending that history." The crowd gasped in at the revelation. Despite the uproar caused by the Hokage's announcement, Tsunade's strong voice carried over the noise," Rather than return to punish Land of Fire for the crimes committed upon you and your family, you ended up overturning a corrupt government determined the destroy what remained of the Land of Fires free spirit. Despite defecting from Konoha three years ago, you defeated both Orochimaru and Deidara, two S-class missing ninja. While your crimes against Konoha cannot be ignored neither can your triumphs and sacrifice." The blond woman paused while rolling open a scroll she held in her hand, "It is the order of the council that Sasuke Uchiha be exiled for 4 years from the Village of Hidden Leaves. During the course of that time, you are forbidden to come within 3 miles of the village on pain of death. Your name will be retracted from the bingo books and you will be allowed to live your life as you choose. If after 4 years you wish to return to this village, you will be judged before a panel of your peers. Should your heart prove true and actions are without reproach, you will be reinstated as a citizen of Konoha. Is that understood?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yes."

Tsunade turned to the crowd once again, "So let it be done..."

Sakura felt her heart stop in her chest when the Hokage read the proclamation. She had hoped that he would be allowed to stay but deep down she knew that this fate was better than death. Even so, she could not stop the bitterness and sorrow that overtook her soul. All around her the crowd churned with speculations and shock, but the shock of reality made her ears deaf to everything. Naruto stood stiffly beside her, his face buried in the crook of Hinata's neck. The sorrow-filled kunoichi wanted to comfort him, to be comforted by him. However, she left the pair knowing that in this moment despite their shared agony there was no place for her. After waiting for Sakura to notice him for so long, Naruto found comfort in the arms of a woman who could love him unconditionally, who he could love without fear or reservation. The rose haired woman felt her face become conspicuously tight and her eyes sting as she pushed forward through the crowd to catch her last glimpse of Sasuke.

***

Sasuke Uchiha seemed rather indifferent to verdict as if he already predicted his fate. Two ANBU guards were escorting him from the platform, holding his arms tightly as if he meant to bolt. The young man thought it ridiculous, all this pomp and circumstance. He had very little desire to remain in this village and now with his newfound freedom he could move forward and make a life of his own. As he passed the Hokage heard her whisper a warning.

"Do not think we won't be watching you, Otokage..."

Rather than answer, the black haired shinobi shrugged before turning his gaze back to the excited masses. Sakura was no longer in her place. Naruto was in the arms of the Hyuuga girl, which surprised the Uchiha. He didn't think the idiot capable of getting a girl to notice him. After dismissing them, he scanned the crowd for a glimpse of pink. His sharp vision latched on to her form as she moved forward. He could tell she was suppressing strong emotion as she paused, locking her gaze with his. If he had a heart, if he were a better man, he could have put the young girl at ease long ago. But he knew nothing of comfort or of love. Such concepts were shattered and tossed to the wind the day he found his parents lying dead in a pool of their own blood, slaughtered in a fit of madness and obligation by his brother Itachi. He held no regard for Sakura, not the way she would have desired, but he knew he could make use of her should he survive. He knew that if he decided to call upon her she would come. Her love made her undeniably loyal and easy to manipulate. Watching her fighting an inward battle with her emotions, her eyes shimmering green with unshed tears, her plush lips pressed together in grim determination, Sasuke felt some spark of emotion in his frozen soul he could not identify. Sakura was wrong about one thing; the Uchiha knew that she changed. He acknowledged her growth but he knew underneath all her strong façade, she was just as vulnerable as she was before. His face remained stoic as he drank in the sight of her, burning an older Sakura into his memory, erasing the red-faced crying girl he left behind so long ago. He did not break the gaze until the pink haired kunoichi was out of his line of sight.

***

Sakura stood before the platform until the crowd dispersed. Naruto came to her to offer her some solace but she had turned him away, saying that she wanted to be alone. Body on autopilot, she trudged through the village towards her makeshift quarters in the hospital. She wanted to huddle up in a corner and cry but the idea of crying in the dark seemed so distasteful at the moment. She felt the need to be useful, to release her anxious energy in a constructive manner. Once inside the walls of the temporary Konoha Hospital, Sakura made a detour to the room of an individual she had not seen in weeks. This security enhanced room was eerily quiet save for the melodic beeping and puffs of air emanating from the respirator. The man lying on the hospital bed, connected to the lone respirator and an IV, made no sound or movement except the expanding and contracting of his chest. His silver cloud of hair was spread haphazardly on his pillow and his pale brow was smooth as if he had no worries in the world. The lower half of his face was obscured by the oxygen mask but Sakura knew this man well. He was a hero who nearly sacrificed his life to Pein for the sake of Konoha. Now he lay in a deathlike slumber, unable or unwilling to awaken. The man on the hospital bed was a mere shadow of his lively self. Many had given up on his recovery although Tsunade would not pull the plug. She and her mentor were of a small group who believed that the man still had a chance. After stabilizing him, Sakura hadn't the opportunity to revisit and begin the complicated healing sessions that might redeem his soul.

Running hand over his brow with a startling familiarity she would not have been allowed had he been awake, Sakura took a quick analysis of his state. Not much had been achieved in her absence. In his efforts to survive Pein's attacks and rescue his companions, Kakashi used his Mangekyo Sharingan three times. His body couldn't withstand the strain and his overuse of chakra resulted in damage to his body and parts of his central nervous system. Every medic-nin knew that the brain was a delicate thing. Novices were not allowed to attempt the intricate process of healing without intense training and supervision. Unlike most medic-nin her age, Sakura long surpassed the need for management while she healed her patients. Now she was considered one of the top in her field, second only to Tsunade despite her age.

Rather than wallow in her own self pity, she decided today would be as good as any to give Kakashi a much needed healing session. Her hand flared with green as she lean over the prone man, pressing her fingertips to the base of his skull. She closed her eyes and began the process of healing. But the silence in the lifeless room was far too oppressive. In effort to relieve some stress and chase away the gloom of the room, Sakura opened her mouth and began a monologue with the comatose Kakashi.

"Nee Kakashi-sensei... You've been asleep for so long. I always thought you were a bit lazy, reading Icha Icha Paradise and never lifting a finger unless it was totally necessary. You won't believe all the things you missed or how much Konoha has changed... How much your students have changed..."

Sakura continued to chatter almost mindlessly, filling the unconscious man in on all the things he'd missed in his coma. In the process, she also unburdened her soul to him, telling him her deepest worries, her regrets, and her sorrows. She spoke of Naruto and her constant failure to be of any use to him as a teammate and friend. She spoke of Sasuke of his change and the coldness that lurked in his eyes. She shed a few tears, faltering in her healing, pausing to wipe them away. Despite her grief she continued knowing that her former teacher would offer her no judgment or reproach, just sweet, accepting silence. And in that moment, that was all she could ever ask for.


	7. Life Goes On

***

It's another update! Gasp! I still don't own Naruto or its characters. Such an honor belongs to Kishimoto. Thank you so much for the reviews. I won't make a habit of commenting on reviews but I giggled maniacally when one of my lovely reviewers called Sasuke "a bowl of crap". He isn't being all that nice, I know. But then again, he isn't all that nice in the series either. Worry not; he is due for major character development. While he may play the role pretty well, he isn't very mature on matters of emotion. I will do my best to keep him in character and make him grow up too.

***

Sasuke Uchiha followed the group of ANBU agents as the led him away from the village and deep into the forest. Although his face was absent of emotion, he was anxious to be free of those chakra draining manacles and his oppressive company. Before their trek into the woods, one of the agents adjusted the draining level of the shackles just enough that he could channel chakra to his feet to keep up with his guards. None of the ANBU bothered to speak to him or each other, a fact that Sasuke did not mind. He was never much of a conversationalist nor did he think the agents who once haunted his steps were interested in exchanging pleasantries. For the first time in years, he and Leaf ninja shared a common goal; Get him as far from Konoha as possible.

Within minutes the group came to a stop in a small clearing in the forest. One ANBU agent wearing a cat mask came to a stop before Sasuke, grabbing hold of his manacles none too gently with glowing hands.

"They will deactivate in a quarter hour. By that time you should be miles away. If you come within 3 miles of Konoha before your time is up, we reserve the right to hunt you down like a dog and terminate you." The agent growled.

Not one to be easily intimidated, Sasuke only smirked as all of ANBU agents disappeared in a flash of smoke. He stood there for a moment, contemplating how it felt to be freer than he'd ever been before. Never one for sentimentality, he cut the moment short and with a burst of chakra, shattering the manacles encircling his wrists. Two minutes later a ragtag trio appeared in front of him, summoned by his flare of chakra.

Pushing aside his black cloak, Suigetsu's face split into a sharp-toothed grin before he spoke, "Look what the cat drug in? So they finally let you loose, eh?"

Sasuke offered nothing more than a grunt, "Hn..."

Karin sprinted forward, preparing to give Sasuke a thorough check up, "What have they done to you, Sasuke-kun? Are you hurt? How dare those bastards hold you this long."

The Uchiha held up his hand, halting the red-headed kunoichi's progress. He was not in the mood for the groping Karin would undoubtedly give him. She was even more aggressive in her advances since he let her heal him with her chakra. She appeared to have enjoyed him sucking on her chakra reserves more than necessary. "I'm fine."

Juugo stood a little back from the others, quietly observing the madness that was Team Hawk. He learned long ago that there was no need to attract attention. He preferred to let Karin and Suigetsu take the spotlight because he feared that undue notice would perhaps aggravate his tentative control of his sanity. Besides, he didn't want to be in Karin's line of fire whenever Sasuke turned her down. The pale haired missing Nin from Mist was already being pummeled simply because he chuckled.

"What the fuck, Karin!? Don't get mad at me because Sasuke doesn't want you even after a stay in the slammer." Suigetsu muttered as his head and shoulders solidified once again.

"Damn it Suigetsu, must you ruin all of my moments!" Karin cried, flustered by her teammate's comments.

The frost haired ninja sneered, "Me ruin your moments? You do a damn good job of ruining it for yourself, you bitten up broad."

Sasuke stood aside watching the commotion with a blank face. He contemplated locking the pair in a nasty genjutsu to shut them up and then shook his head. He could feel an acute headache coming on. Rather than resorting to outright violence like his companions, he resorted to intimidation instead. Projecting his chakra as a dark cloud and summoning snakes to restrain Suigetsu and Karin, the Uchiha heir barked a command, "Quiet."

Instantly understanding that her team leader was in no mood for their follies, Karin quieted. Suigetsu, however, was never was one to take a point, "Aww come on. Is this how you treat the team who missed you _so _much?" He whined.

Sasuke unceremoniously dropped the pair and turned away, "We're going to Sound."

Karin hopped up from the ground, brushing away bits of dirt and smoothing the straight side of her hair, "Now? I thought you wanted to destroy Konoha. What's the point of going back to Sound?"

Team Hawk's leader felt no need to explain. He merely strode in the opposite direction of the village. Juugo felt in line with Sasuke, easily matching his strides.

"What is the plan?" Juugo inquired quietly.

He answered, "We need to gather information on the current conditions in Oto and then strategize from there."

"Strategy?" the tall man muttered more to himself than Sasuke.

"Team Hawk is taking over Otogakure." Sasuke Uchiha replied activation his Mangekyo Sharingan with a smirk.

***

Three days had passed since Sasuke's sentencing and immediate exile. Sakura knew that her days in Konoha were numbered, that soon she would have to return to her duties in Suna. Tsunade seemed to be rather lenient, giving her apprentice the time and space she needed. Rather than succumb to sadness and hide in the darkness to nurse her wounds, Sakura spent her time holed up in the hospital with Kakashi. She was determined to make some progress with her former teacher, determined to save him from the everlasting darkness that was his life. During her prolonged sessions with the renowned Copy Nin, she discovered that sending minute pulsing shocks of chakra through his central nervous system elicited changes in his stagnant brain activity. It was not huge alteration but still enough to giver her hope.

During her healing sessions, sometimes she talked incessantly. Today was different, in an attempt soothe her own anxiety about her eminent departure she eschewed chattering for humming a simple lullaby her mother once sang to her when she was small. She wasn't a talented vocalist but she at least learned to hold a tune as was required by her kunoichi classes. At the time, she thought music lessons strange but one always had to be a prepared if they had to go undercover.

She hummed for hours, alternating between tunes and working on Kakashi diligently until she felt her chakra reserves begin to wane. Deciding it was best to take a break, the young kunoichi perched on the hospital bed leaning over the prone man to adjust the bland, white blinds covering his window. At that moment, Naruto came bustling into room.

"There you are Sakura-chan!" he boomed.

Sakura jerked mid-reach and turned toward the source of all of the commotion. Unable to maintain her precarious balance, she toppled unto Kakashi. She quickly scrambled away from the hospital bed, a mortified blush blooming on her smooth cheeks.

"Damn it, Naruto. This is a hospital, don't you know how to be quiet." Sakura groaned as straightened herself and smoothed Kakashi's sheets.

"What are you doing to Kakashi-sensei? If you need someone to hop all over, I could..." Naruto leered.

"Quiet fool..." the kunoichi sighed, "and get your mind out of the gutter. I'm just here to help."

The Jinchuuriki sighed, "You've been hiding in this gloomy place for three days. I'm dragging you out of here. You need some sunlight and the company of friends."

Sakura rubbed her temples, "Naruto... I..."

"No Sakura. I won't let you hide. Come with me. Just for a little while. Please..." He pleaded, his bright blue eyes reflecting his worries.

Sakura focused her leaf green eyes on her best friend. She could see the concern etched into his features. She knew he wanted to talk, knew that he most likely wanted to vent about Sasuke and his exile. She'd been avoiding him and everyone else in a futile effort to avoid droning on and on about Konoha's recent events. At least here in this room with Kakashi, there were no expectations to meet. She could be happy, sad, angry or just plain rude without the pitying glances and patronizing conversations. But Naruto was right, she couldn't hide forever. It was inevitable that she would have to face reality or it would come barging into her life whether she wanted it to or not.

"Fine..." She sighed, "Where do you want to go?"

The blond shinobi brightened instantly, "Let's do Ichiraku's!"

Sakura frowned because she knew that the ramen stand suffered the same fate as most of Konoha. "But..."

"It's already rebuilt and better than ever. He even enlarged the place so there are tables and chairs too. Isn't that awesome?" He exclaimed.

Swept up in his brilliantly energy, she couldn't help but to smile, "I can't wait, Naruto. Lead the way."

The whiskered blonde's face split into a wide grin as he crooked his arm and wiggling his eyebrows at the young woman. Sakura couldn't help but to giggle at his antics as she rest her small hand on triceps.

"Aren't we being chivalrous today?" she asked.

"Well I am destined to be Hokage one day. It doesn't hurt to escort and protect pretty ladies."

"I don't need an escort, I will have you know." The kunoichi quipped.

"I could think of quite a few things you definitely need..." Naruto sighed as he led her from the hospital room. A cry of pain quickly followed his remark, "Damn it, Sakura-chan... I didn't mean it like that. Honest!!!"

Sakura growled, "Naruto!"

The sounds of the quarreling duo faded from the room leaving the unconscious silver-haired man to his own devices. There was no one in the room to witness the tremulous shadow of a smile touch his lips before it faded once again.

***

The affair at Ichiraku's was not as difficult as she imagined. The current gathering was tame. Sai, Hinata and the two Suna Jounin, Masao and Eiji, sat at the counter waiting for their food to arrive. As soon as Sakura and Naruto entered, the group greeted the pair rather calmly. Seeing as most of Rookie 9 was still in Suna, she didn't have to deal with the constant ribbing from the motley crew. Ino was definitely the main culprit of Sakura's psychological interrogations and frequent prying. The kunoichi knew quite well how much Sasuke's abandonment of Konoha affected Sakura. Because of that, Ino Yamanaka was never was one to hold back her opinions if she thought her friend was in need of her harsh brand of advice. She'd spent many days and nights distracting the pink haired girl from the onslaught of depression and tear filled nights. If she were here, Ino would feel it was her duty to poke and prod until Sakura lost her mind and her temper. In her steed, Sai made it his duty to taunt the kunoichi a bit.

The pale young man sidled over to Sakura as soon as she sat down. Sliding an arm over her shoulder, he leaned in slightly and peered into her face. "Ah Hag, you look more haggardly than usual. Can I be of assistance?"

Eiji and Masao watched the exchange with gaping mouths, wandering if the boy with the questionable fashion sense also had a death a pregnant pause, Sakura turned to look at her dark-haired teammate, huffing in annoyance.

Capturing him in an embrace that was more of a headlock than a hug, Sakura sighed, "Oh Sai, I've missed you too."

The former agent of ROOT kept a stoic face even as his ability to breathe began to reduce in slow degrees, "Really Hag, I think we should leave these types of passionate embraces for private. I know how irresistible I can be but... Argh!"

Tiring of his nonsense, Sakura applied her knuckles firmly to his scalp and mussed his short ebony locks. "You sure do know to kill a sentimental moment Sai."

Naruto let out a sharp bark of laughter and Hinata giggled behind her hand. Eiji and Masao visibly relaxed after realizing they were not in danger of being caught in one of Sakura's fiery episodes. Their anxiety lessened even more as Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen Bar, sat steaming bowls of ramen before.

"You kids never change do you?" Teuchi laughed, long accustomed to Rookie 9's antics. "Ayame, bring Sakura and Naruto the usual."

The conversation flowed easily as stomachs became full in content. After conferring quietly for a few minutes, Masao and Eiji thought it prudent to broach the subject of their eminent departure with their appointed team leader.

After picking at the remains of ramen, Eiji cleared his throat, "It seems everything is in the clear here. I think it's about high time we head back. Unless, there is something else that needs to be done in Konoha. We sent a missive to the Kazekage. I'm sure he wants us to return expediently."

Sakura leaned against the bar, propping her head up on her threaded fingers, "Yes... Duty does call. I suppose we should leave before the week is out. It's just that with all the commotion going on here and ... Well... I've gotten myself caught up in a really delicate medical procedure. I hoped that..."

The young medic-nin's voice faded wistfully. She was hoping to make some kind of breakthrough with Kakashi before she left. It felt so wrong to turn her back on him now when he obviously needed someone to be there for him.

_"I wish I was stronger. I wish I could be useful to someone. How can I leave something like this unfinished...?" _Sakura heaved an inward sigh.

"I know how you are Sakura." Naruto replied, his voice grave and serious. "Kakashi-sensei knew what he was doing. Don't go blaming yourself. He wouldn't want that and I don't want that either. It's not your fault, you know?"

Hinata watched the byplay between the two with a tinge of worry. There was something about the undertones of emotion in Naruto's voice that put her in serious doubt about his feelings toward Sakura. Shaking her head in dismay, she pressed her hand to her cheek and tried to chase away the awful feelings of dismay and envy flowing over her.

"Something amiss Hinata-sama?" Masao asked his temporary teammate quietly.

Turning abruptly, she laughed, "Oh no, I'm great." A blush bloomed on her fair cheeks.

Hinata didn't want to feel this way. She knew that Sakura came first regardless of what the young kunoichi claimed. The Hyuuga heiress almost sacrificed her life for the man she loved, she could survive this too if she wanted to keep Naruto close. She liked Sakura. She bore the young woman no ill feelings but she couldn't deny that she felt insecure standing in her shadow. Willing herself to cease this line of thought, Hinata gave her head a brief shake. Turning her attention back to the members of Team 7, she found Sakura was engaged in animated discussion and sparkling blue eyes were staring into her lavender ones.

With no preamble Naruto leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. "What's wrong? You're blushing. Are you well, Hinata?"

Despite maturing a great deal since her genin days, the sole female member of Team 8 was still cripplingly shy. Naruto Uzumaki's intense stare only succeeded in making her cheeks change a deeper shade of red.

"No, no... I'm Naruto-kun. No need to worry." Hinata stuttered.

The Jinchuuriki tipped his head slightly, watching her with a thoughtful gaze. "You seem tired. Let me walk you home."

Despite her protests, Hinata was quickly bustled out of the ramen bar and into the sunset tinged streets. Sakura watched the pair with a bemused smile.

"It seems Dickless is starting to be a lot less clueless." Sai stated dryly.

"Sai..." Sakura laughed, elbowing the emotionless man lightly.

Masao and Eiji couldn't help but to grunt in amusement at the nicknames Sai had give his teammates. Neither of the Suna Nin could figure out how he managed to remain alive around Sakura.

***

It's a filler! Don't worry kids. I think my readers deserve some light moments given the angst-driven interactions I've been forcing down all of you throats lately. Congrats Chantrea Moonbeam, Chapter 5 does contain the "unfortunate promise". Sakura naively promised everyone's favorite Uchiha that she would help him anyway she could. You get that cookie. Who am I kidding? Everyone gets a cookie just for reading. Keep reading, keep reviewing (when you feel like it), and don't be afraid to ask questions (Except questions involving future chapters). I could answer but isn't it more fun to when you're surprised!


	8. In the Aftermath

***

I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. And I am fine with that. It's a new chapter. YAY!

***

Days passed unheeded as the pink-haired medic labored over Kakashi in an effort to drag him back to the world of consciousness. Healing Kakashi had become a form of therapy for her, a method to hold back the burgeoning depression resulting from Sasuke's exile. Despite her best intentions, Sakura caused her comrades to miss their departure deadline. Her hesitation to leave was duly noted by Tsunade, resulting in the young kunoichi receiving an ominous summons to the Hokage's office. Although Sakura walked into the office expecting to be chewed out for obviously shirking her duties as an ambassador, the young woman was ill-prepared for what her master had in store. She sat in stunned silence as Tsunade began recounting her rescue at Sasuke's hands and the resulting discussion that determined his fate.

".... It was actually the Uchiha boy's idea to be exiled. He apparently wanted to cut his ties with Konoha without being hunted down for the rest his life. I can't really blame him." Tsunade sighed rubbing her temples a bit. "It was sheer hell trying to convince the damn council that we should let Sasuke fly free. Apparently the boy has some idea that he can subdue Sound on his own."

Tsunade's pink-haired apprentice made no reply. She couldn't muster the brain power to be coherent. Too many thoughts and emotions were fluttering through her mind at rapid speeds, crashing into each other and bouncing off of her skull. She was unsure of how to react to all the information she was absorbing.

"So I bet you're wondering why I would even bother to depart this stuff to you." Tsunade stated, her voice becoming slightly gruff, "I was never one for all the coddling nonsense. I'm far from the most sensitive woman on this planet. I've seen far too much of reality to be affected by flights of fancy and emotion but... You are my apprentice. I have watched you grow from an unsure little girl with a mop of ragged pink hair to a young woman with enough inner strength and intelligence to one day surpass me. Although you never said as much, I know how the departure of the Uchiha boy affects you."

At that statement, Sakura looked away from the sharp amber eyes of the Hokage. She felt a great deal of shame at being so transparent to everyone. _'Tsunade must think I am a disgrace to appear to so weak...'_

"You came to me an undisciplined genin with no self-esteem and a broken heart. Even then, I saw the greatness in you. In this world of war and sorrow that we live in, a part of being a shinobi is knowing that it is unwise to indulge too much of our emotions. However, your heart is your greatest strength as well as your greatest weakness. Your heart drives you to achieve the impossible but then you blame yourself for things you have no control over."

The young woman could feel herself begin to tremble with suppressed emotions. It took so much effort to remain composed before the strongest woman she knew. It would not do to shame herself before the Hokage.

"Sakura, look at me..." the older woman commanded, waiting patiently until her apprentice hesitantly complied. "Sasuke is driven by his own demons and would have left no matter how strong you were or how much you loved him. Stop blaming yourself. Stop trying to hide from the facts. You're suffering and holding yourself back for no reason. I will not allow you to continue this nonsense. You are a talented kunoichi with a duty to me and this village. Even though you try to hide it, you hold doubt in your own abilities. You are not useless nor are you the little girl left behind anymore. Find acceptance in that. This life we lead is full of heartbreak so learn to guard your heart. You can't fall to pieces, not now. Not ever."

"I understand..." Sakura replied evenly, despite the lump forming in her throat.

"As a woman, I have loved and lost. I know what it means to mourn but I also know that I have to continue to fulfill my duties to the ones who need me most. There are many who rely upon you. I have been patient enough. It is time for you to return to Suna."

"Yes, shisou."

"I will handle Kakashi's recovery from here on out. Although shutting yourself in a hospital room day in and day out with a semi-invalid is unhealthy behavior, you have managed to achieve the almost impossible. His vitals are strengthening daily and his spike in brain activity is remarkable. I congratulate you on your success." The Hokage continued as her voice softened. "You are dismissed Haruno. Hinata and the Suna ninjas have already been briefed on their upcoming return. Get some rest. You have a long trip ahead of you tomorrow."

Sakura left the Hokage tower on autopilot. She was still trying to sort through the mess of her emotions. Part of her already knew that if she went home now she would never be able to rest, not after the talk Tsunade had given her. The young woman did not want to think too deeply on her master's words. However they seemed to spring unbidden into her mind, filling her with restless energy and a slow burning rage. At this rate, the increasingly unstable kunoichi would snap. Rather than taking Tsunade's advice, she ended up on the training grounds bordering the village. It was only then that the she let loose her explosive fury.

The ground split beneath her feet as she smashed her fist into the earth. A tree to her left became her next victim, splintering in the wake of her anger. Another tree exploded, and then another as Sakura unleashed her pent up frustration on everything in her sight.

_If you leave... to me... to me I would be just as alone as you..._

_I love you with all my heart..._

_If you were to stay with me... there would be no regrets..._

_Please, just stay with me..._

_Or take me with you if you can't stay here..._

"How could I be so foolish!!!" she yelled as she shattered a huge boulder. Anger roiled in her gut as she remembered how naively she pleaded with Sasuke to remain by her side when he first left Konoha. She recalled every time that she threw herself in his path, wanting him to notice, wanting him to love her. He rejected her when they were 12 and he managed to throw her love back in her face once again.

Somehow he managed to coax a confession from her after his return, prompting her to make a vow to do anything for him. He taunted and teased her. He knew that he would be departing soon enough, leaving her to nurse a wounded heart again. It was unfair. The knowledge of his betrayal sent another blinding surge of anger coursing through her body as she decimated her surroundings. Sakura didn't even realize that torrents of tears poured from her eyes as she let loose cry after cry of sheer fury. Her emotional storm eventually ended in an explosion that lit the ravished training grounds with a flash of blinding light.

In the aftermath, Sakura did not know if she lay on her back in that smoking crater for mere minutes or hours. She could only concentrate on taking one ragged breath after another as her anger dimmed into resignation. A steady stream of tears slid across her dirt smudged cheeks and into the fine pink hair at her temples. She didn't bother to wipe them away. Instead she watched the stars blur in and out of focus while listening to the stillness all around her. The sky above faded to a menacing grayish black as clouds rolled in. The young kunoichi could feel the numerous cuts and bruises she acquired during her rampage. Rather than heal them with what little chakra she still had, she let the aches and pains remind her that she was indeed still among the living.

Eventually, her breathing evened and the tears dried, leaving salty streaks on her dirty cheeks. Overhead thunder rumbled a sign of an oncoming downpour. When the first drops began to fall, the young woman rose slowly and pulled herself out of the hole that she unwittingly dug. It was then that the rain fell in torrents, washing the mud and grime from her skin. She stood there for a moment with her face raised to the sky, letting rain pelt her. In that moment, Sakura willed her heartbreak to wash away along with the rain. It was then that she made a silent vow.

'_I will guard this heart of mine from now on. I will never again forget who I am and what I am capable of. Never again will I let myself be so foolish. Never again will I love an illusion. Never again will I let my self worth be decided by those who cannot appreciate who I am. Never again will I cry for a fool... Never Again...'_

With that vow, she squared her shoulders and left the training grounds.

***

Hinata could not help but to watch Sakura carefully as they traveled toward Suna. There was something about her pink-haired team leader that was different. The Hyuuga heiress had yet to put her finger on it but the young kunoichi was certainly changed in someway. Perhaps it was because Sakura was unnaturally silent when they gathered at the gates of Konoha. Her commands were concise and her eyes held none of the brilliant energy that personified the young medic nin. Hinata wondered what had brought on this sudden shift in her friend's persona but did not think it wise to question the young woman nimbly leaping through the trees now. The Byakugan user did not wish to ignite the young woman's mercurial temper with unnecessary questioning. Sakura seemed content to keep her thoughts and feelings private and the black-haired young woman respected her privacy. The Sand Jounin, Eiji and Masao, eyed Sakura warily and kept their distance. They figured she was having 'woman's problem's' and didn't wish to be caught in the crossfire should she explode.

Sakura leapt from branch to branch blissfully unaware that she was the subject of silent scrutiny. Her body ran on autopilot as her mind wandered aimlessly. She was exhausted and she had no one to blame but herself. Her tantrum yesterday cost her quite a bit of chakra and hours of rest. After retuning to her makeshift quarters in the temporary dormitory for Konoha ninja at 2 am, she barely had enough time to take a decent shower, pack and grab a few hours of sleep before meeting her team at the gates at 6:30 in the morning. During her slumber, most of her injuries managed to heal but at the cost of her chakra reserves. Now Sakura was running off of sheer will but it would not be long before she would have to take a rest.

'_I need to take a break before I collapse. I won't be any good unless I get a little rest and a bit of food in my stomach. If an enemy were to attack us now... I couldn't fight or heal anyone in this condition.' _The pink haired woman sighed inwardly.

The kunoichi and her teammates continued to speed through the forest until they came upon a small clearing. Sakura jumped down from the trees and signaled the other to follow her.

"We've been going for the last ten hours. Let's take a break for an hour and then continue. We're in the River country, the home of Akatsuki's first known hideout. It's inactive now but we should keep up our guard. Hopefully we will be on the edge of the Wind Country before night falls fully and we can settle into camp. Hinata, I could use some of that dried meat you packed." After giving orders, the medic nin slouched against a large boulder and wiped her perspiring forehead.

Hinata approached Sakura cautiously with a small portion of their rations. The Hyuuga clanswoman could see that the other woman's features were pale and drawn. "Sakura, why don't we just make camp here for the night?" the shy woman asked quietly as she handed over some dried meat and vegetables.

"I'm not sure I want to risk it. We've wasted enough time in Konoha." Sakura replied tiredly. "The River Country is not that stable and we are too close to the Rain Country for my liking. Since Pein's disappearance, Amegakure is without a ruler. Who knows what the Rain nin are up to."

Hinata understood her reservations but could not help but to think it might be wise if her leader didn't push herself so hard. As the sole medic nin of the group, Sakura would not only need to defend her teammates but also heal them. At this point, she barely had enough chakra to do either.

"I understand but we do have two trained Jounin with us and at the rate we are going, you'll suffer from chakra exhaustion if we don't take a substantial break." Hinata pressed on.

Sakura sighed, covering her eyes with one delicate hand as she struggled to think, "You're right, Hinata..." She muttered. Pinching the bridge of her nose slightly to ward off an oncoming headache, the pink haired kunoichi continued, "Alright... Slight change of plans. Let's make this area our camp for the night. There's no point in rushing into the desert when night is creeping up on us. Eiji, scout the surrounding area. Hinata please set up camp. Masao, gather firewood. I will help Hinata get things situated here. You two should each take a headset. If you encounter any trouble, contact me immediately."

Once Eiji and Masao departed, the two young women worked silently to set up camp. Hinata was dying to know the cause of Sakura's fatigue but hesitated to pry. Even though she knew Sakura since she was in the Academy and grown close to medic nin over the course of their stay in Suna, she did not want to overstep her bounds. After she observed the pink haired woman frequently pause in her tasks to stare absently at nothing in particular, the Hyuuga heiress finally decided to speak up.

"Are you okay Sakura? You seem a little out of it." She whispered, fixing her companion with her lavender-eyed gaze.

Sakura let loose a bitter laugh and ran her fingers roughly through her pink tresses before replying, "I look that bad huh?"

Hinata replied anxiously, shaking her head in denial, "No... no... It's not that... I mean you just don't seem yourself today and you're so tired. Are you ill? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't seem myself..." Sakura echoed more to herself that her teammate before falling silent. Rather than answering immediately the young kunoichi made a show of rolling out one their sleeping bags, slumping slightly as she smoothed the fabric repeatedly.

Hinata could tell that something was indeed amiss. "Sakura..."she whispered worriedly.

"You're right you know. I'm not myself." Sakura replied in a stilted voice. "I can't be myself anymore or whoever I was all these years. I placed all my faith in love, in being loved. I thought for so long that if I got stronger people would notice. I was hoping he would notice. I guess I failed."

"That's not true Sakura. You're one of the strongest kunoichi I know. That's what admire so much about you." Hinata countered. "I know how much you love Sasuke. I wouldn't know what to do if I was in your position... I don't think I could be as strong..."

"But I'm not strong, don't you see?" the pink haired woman replied, turning to look at Hinata with dull green eyes. "I'm not really that strong. I've been walking around for years, hoping that people would pity me. Moping and crying for a guy that barely noticed I exist. I did it all for the wrong reasons... I didn't set out to become a ninja with a set goal in mind. I just wanted to protect the people I love, to protect Konoha. Somewhere along the way I stopped doing it for me and started existing just to prove myself to him... to Sasuke. It's so hard to break the cycle once you start and then all the sudden you wake up one day and find yourself not satisfied. It wasn't enough that he left me once to fulfill his own desires... I..."

"Well, it's different this time. This time it was the Council's decision to exile him. He didn't leave on his own." Hinata replied, trying her best to console her friend.

Sakura shook her head slowly as she spoke, "It doesn't matter. Sasuke Uchiha wanted to stay in Konoha as much as the Council wanted him there. He's not coming back this time. Even if he remained in the village, nothing would have changed anyway. It's time that I accept that and move on. I've been chasing windmills for so long and now I have to adjust."

"Oh Sakura," Hinata whispered.

"Don't... I don't want pity." The young woman looked away and then shrugged slightly. "I've been playing the pity card for too long. It's about time I actually start living for me. Love is all great and dandy but for now I'm alright with the friends I have and the village I live to protect."

The Hyuuga woman nodded in understanding. The women finished preparing the camp in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Masao and Eiji returned without incident but the former warned that he noticed a small cluster of weak chakra signatures to the east. After summoning a shadow clone to investigate, he discovered that it was a ragtag group of 6 rogue ninja from the Earth Country.

"They are more than 1000m from our campsite but they seem to moving slowly in this direction. There is no telling if we will cross paths or not. There chakra signatures appear pretty weak but who knows if they know how to suppress their chakra or not."

Sakura squared her shoulders at that bit of information, and spoke authoritatively, "Well, we should keep alert. No building fires until after sundown. We all will have to secure the premises with traps. I brought quite a few explosive tags. During the night, we all do shifts. Eiji you're first, then Hinata, I will go after that and then Masao. If we leave at sunrise, we should make it to the border between the River Country and the Wind Country by noon. From there, Suna is a short stretch."

The team secured the premises just before sunset. Afterwards, the group settled in for a quiet evening. Masao and Eiji chatted quietly with Hinata. Sakura sat off to the side, reading some scrolls Tsunade had given her involving complicated jutsu that the Hokage thought she could master. Despite her efforts to remain alert, she could feel herself begin to doze. Sighing in resignation, the young woman decided it was time to get some sleep before her shift began. She fell asleep as soon as she crawled into her sleeping bag. Her other teammates noted this in hushed voices.

"It's about time she retired. She's been on the verge of collapse for hours." Eiji whispered.

"All the events in Konoha of late are taking its toll on Sakura-san. She has a lot of responsibilities now." Hinata noted.

"True. For a chuunin, she's got a hell of lot going on with her." Masao muttered then grunted when Eiji elbowed him in the side none too gently.

"Excuse my crudeness, but she does man." Masao grumbled, rubbing his abused ribs. "I mean I don't know if I could manage being the Hokage's apprentice, ambassador and head up the medical program in Suna all at once. Shit, I can't even do that now."

Hinata giggled quietly at their antics. "I'm used to crudeness. My teammate Kiba never spares me when he goes on a rant. He says learning as many curse words as possible gives you character."

"Sounds about right to me. A little curse here and there never hurt anyone. You should try it sometime Hinata-sama."

Eiji leveled Masao with a glare before butting in. "Don't let him be a bad influence on you Hinata-sama. You're representing Suna here idiot. Behave like it."

"I'm not a bad influence. Sakura-san said at least 40 curse words as she pounded that gatekeeper into the dust." Masao retorted.

Eiji shuddered at that memory. "You're right. She's rather formidable when she's mad. Today, our team leader seemed a bit out of it though."

Hinata sighed quietly, "The exile. She took that pretty hard. That man was her former teammate."

Eiji murmured, "I heard all about Sasuke Uchiha in Suna. He's quite an infamous character. I've seen him in our bingo books too. Plus everyone has heard about the Uchihas and their extermination."

"Yeah," the Hyuuga woman replied. "His defection from Konoha caused an uproar. Everyone was shocked, none more than his teammates. They all were really close."

As the night deepened, their conversation faded into silence. Masao and Hinata retired to catch as bit of sleep before their shifts. Both Hinata and Eiji's shifts passed without incident. Sakura decided to use a soldier pill before beginning her shift just to ensure that her chakra levels would be sufficient. During the course of her shift, she tried again to read her scroll but she could not concentrate. Instead, she spent the remainder of her shift staring at the stars. When Masao tapped her shoulder, signifying the end her shift, Sakura merely nodded and leapt into the trees. From the treetops, she could get a better view of the black velvet sky and the oncoming sunrise.

Her contemplative mood remained unbroken until hours later when a kunai whizzed past her shoulder as she sped through the trees towards Suna. Sakura felt her senses sharpen as she shouted commands to Hinata and Eiji. Masao was already engaged in combat with one of the attackers.

"Hinata!" Sakura commanded sharply.

Hinata scanned the forest quickly before giving a succinct reply, "Three below, two to the left, and one on the right. We're surrounded."

"You two handle the ones to the left and right. I'm going down to help Masao!" she shouted before diving to the forest floor.

"Look it what we have here guys," a tall scruffy man drawled upon her arrival. "Such pretty company..."

Sakura curled her lip in distaste at the appearance of the rogue ninja. The Rock Nin were low level ninja in torn, dirty clothing. Their chakra levels were no higher than chuunin. Without preamble, she slipped on her gloves and cracked her knuckles.

"Oh I think the girly wants to play. Nobu is busy. Come on Seiji. Let's give Pinky what she wants," said the tall scruffy man as he leered through his oily bangs.

A short, bald man with jagged scars spanning his face stepped forward and licked his thick lips. He chuckled menacingly, "Heh, this will be fun Ken."

The pink haired kunoichi didn't even bother to retort. Instead, she cast a glance at Masao before shouting, "Masao jump!"

Without further warnings she raised her fist and punched the ground with such force that the earth exploded. A jagged crater formed beneath her feet as she leapt away quickly. One of the attackers, the one identified as Seiji, fell into the crater with a shout. Midair she formed the necessary hand signals to close the crater, effectively crushing her one of her opponents.

"You fucking bitch!" Ken cried as he charged at her from behind wielding a katana.

Sakura barely had enough time to pull a kunai from her pouch to block his attack. Sparks flew from the impact. The force of his blow pushed her backwards into a boulder. Twisting in the air, she tried to rebound of the large rock rather than crashing headlong into it. As soon as her feet touched the stone, it exploded.

"Damn it." She hissed as bits of stone embedded in her flesh. The explosion sent her through the thick trunk of a tree and to the ground.

"Now I've got you." Ken chuckled as he approached.

Grabbing her broken ribs, Sakura rose to her feet. She could hear the sounds of battle all around her but she refused to be distracted. Instead her leaf green eyes narrowed menacingly at her opponent as she pulled out another kunai.

"Don't worry Pinky. I'll take it nice and easy on ya'." Ken leered before he charged again.

Ken's swordsmanship was shoddy and crude. Therefore, it was not very difficult to defend against his blows. However, the power behind each of swing made the Hokage's apprentice grit her teeth as she bore the brunt of it.

"Just give in baby. I could use a little birdie like you..."he chuckled.

Sakura growled as she pushed him back a good distance. She could feel her wounds healing rapidly, even as she gasped for air. Before Ken recovered, she performed a series of hand seals before disappearing from sight.

"Ha... so you're running now. I love me a game of hide and seek." Ken sheathed his sword and formed a few hand seals of his own.

The ground began to ripple violently. Roiling and crumbling. The pungent earth and decaying leaves fell away to reveal Sakura's huddled form. The young girl unfurled, staring at her attacker in fright.

"That's right girly. We Rock ninja can control the land." Ken growled. "Now submit or you'll regret it."

"Okay...I give." she sighed meekly. And then she laughed, "Or not!"

"What do you mean 'or not' you..." Ken snarled in confusion.

A moment later he let loose a bloodcurdling scream, as a tap at the base of his neck sent sparks of his vision and crippling pain through his system. The ninja went rigid and fell to the ground.

Sakura knelt before the man and pressed her finger to his temple. Her face was perfectly blank as she spoke, "I have no more time for you."

With one touch, the young kunoichi shut down the Rock ninja's central nervous system. He was not quite dead, but he would be in a few hours. Scanning her surroundings, she discovered that Masao had defeated his opponent and joined Eiji and Hinata in fighting the other three rogue ninja. That fight was drawing to a close as she leapt into the trees.

"Fuck..." Masao mumbled as he struck the last ninja with poisoned-laden senbon.

The man dropped several meters to the ground below, dying on impact. Sakura watched the man fall with a dispassionate glance. She hated death more than anything else but in matters of defending her life she would not go down without a fight.

"Is everyone alright?" she asked quietly, surveying her teammates.

"We're all in one piece. Those stupid ninjas were more of a nuisance than an actual threat." Eiji muttered as he wiped his bloody hands on a small rag he obtained from somewhere.

"All the ninja are accounted for. Apparently, they were rogue bounty hunters." Hinata said. The Hyuuga girl had a few scratches on her cheeks but she was otherwise fine.

"Well I will give you all a simple scan to make sure everything is all right and then we'll keep moving. We can't afford to waste more time." Sakura stated.

***

Another chapter is done. It's time for a break from the angsty bits, I say! Since the series started, Sakura has only been seen doing 5 justus while her teammates are all advancing. That makes no sense to me at all. Anyways, we get to see our favorite Cherry Blossom grow up. The next few chapters will involve her daily life, random situations, training and perhaps some development on Sasuke's side of the world. Who knows? Please be patient. The confrontation is coming. Hope you enjoy this new chapter and my attempt at a fight scene. As always, keep reading and let me know if you like what you see. ;-)

P.S.

If you see anything in need of correcting, let me know! I'm won't get offended I swear. I don't have a beta-reader and I can't fix what I can't see. Having someone beta my work would only cost me more time in posting. I admit I am human and make mistakes in my haste. So be a dear, help me out!

***


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